Beyond Death
by GGMK
Summary: Crash landing on Earth was not part of something Thanos had planned. Meeting a local female wasn't either. Moving in with her temporarily, he only has contempt for her, but the more he spends time with her, the more she surprises him. But neither are prepared for the events ahead. Thanos may have made too many foes... Avengers will make appearances, no graphic smut. Thanos/OC fic.
1. Crash

**Hey. Before you go on to read this story, I just wanted to say a few things. First, this story is kind of an experiment from me for me: you see, I've never written a romance fic before, so this is a personal challenge that I hope to meet. Another challenge was: making a romance story with THANOS of all people, and make it convincing! Yup, Thanos.**

**Thanos is actually one of my favorite Marvel villains in the comics. Strong, hardcore, but also smart. I dislike how some recent comics have made him a generic baddie, when he used to be such a complex villain. So, I hope I do him justice!**

**My final challenge is that fic has my first ever large OC. I don't want to make her a Mary Sue, though. So, everyone who treads this; any review or criticism you have, I'll gladly accept! I really want to know if I'm doing well or not, so review would be appreciated!**

**Thanks for your time, on to the story!**

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><p>Lasers fired. Ships exploded or crashed. People were killed. Space was no longer a quiet emptiness.<p>

Thanos sat on his captain's throne in the center of his ship. His calm demeanor didn't betray the fact that he had been in a space fight with the Nova Corps, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and a group of space pirates led by a blue alien for the last few hours.

None of his plans had worked, and all of his minions had failed, either dying or betraying him. Thanos was patient, but he had limits. He had finally decided on a final showdown with his enemies to gain the Infinity Gauntlet. Since the Kree were useless, he had teamed with the Skrulls **[1]**. It wasn't hard to convince the simpletons; they hated the Nova Corps as well.

Both sides had taken heavy damage and casualties, but Thanos knew he was losing this battle. Suddenly, on his chair, head leaning on a fist, he realized that he was growing weary; weary of this endless battle. Would losing be such an unwanted thing? If he were to die, he would join his beloved.

Through the monitors, he could see the Nova's mothership charging a suitably large cannon, one that was designed to fire particle beams, which destroyed on a molecular level.

Thanos grinned. Good, they were using the heavy artillery. Anything smaller might not end his life, and that wouldn't do. As the beam fired on his ship, and the Skrulls around him began to cry out, pray, or simply go numb in panic, Thanos slowly closed his eyes.

_Soon, beloved. I will be by your side._

* * *

><p>"Goodbye, teacher. See you tomorrow!" a chorus of young voices said brightly as they exited classroom 1-B. One kid even left an apple on the mahogany desk, next to the sign that read Layla Dunham. She smiled at the young boy who had left the red fruit. Ducking his head bashfully, the kid dashed out of the room to join his friends and enjoy the weekend.<p>

And another school day was over for her, as was the week. She sighed. Layla loved her job, and she loved the children, honestly. But she had been a teacher at Crosswoods Academy for at least five years, and it was getting stale. As she put on her coat, and walked out into the brisk air, she moved her brown bangs out of her eyes and checked her cell phone for any messages. The bright screen informed her that there were none.

Walking to her house, she tried to cheer herself up.

"Cheer up, Layla! You have two loving parents whom you visit every once in awhile, you've never had a kid who was a terror, you get paid fine, and you live in a house that, while not gorgeous, is far from a wreck." But she was bored and restless. Unfortunately, she lived in a small town where nothing happened. She had some nice neighbors, but most of them had left the previous weekend to attend the town's annual Fall Festival in the mountains near the town.

She went every year, and she had been invited this year, as usual. For the first time, however, she had passed, not being in the mood. She was beginning to regret that hasty decision now. With the sun setting, walking home alone with no neighbors nearby was almost creepy. Catching herself thinking dark thoughts, she laughed.

_Yeah, right. As if a murderer would be in this sleepy town. I would almost welcome that, actually._ Mentally, she slapped herself. With her luck, she would jinx herself. And it wasn't actually that dark, now that she thought about it. Actually, it was getting brighter.

Wait, what?

Looking up, she gasped as she saw what could only be described as a spaceship came crashing through the sky, landing not far from her house, in the middle of Main Street. She stood stunned for a few moments, before starting to run towards the ship. She didn't know what she would find, but whatever it was, she had a hunch it would not be boring.

* * *

><p>There was an explosion, and a bright light. After that, there was pain, and darkness. A few moments later, another explosion. But a crash meant that he could <em>feel<em>. If he could feel, he was not dead. Thanos opened his eyes. He was still in the ship, which was now almost pitch black, except for the fires that had started. Thanos tried to get up, and winced. Raising his fingers to his forehead, he pulled them away after feeling something trickling down his face. Blood.

Thanos was not an emotional being. But realizing that he would not be joining his Lady Death made him want to roar, tear something apart violently, and kill millions to show his displeasure. But he would control himself, at least for the moment.

Slowly, painfully, Thanos crawled out of the wreckage. Cool air washed over the parts of his skin that was now uncovered by torn cloth. _Hmm_.

He looked around, getting a feel for his surroundings. He could see shrubbery, a road, and various living spaces. Houses, they were called. And then he realized that he was familiar with this planet.

"Earth," he growled out. A dirtball of a planet. He had once fought the Avengers here, and it was not a place he had ever intended to return to, or at least until he was in possession of the Gauntlet, so he could then destroy it.

His musings were interrupted when a feminine voice reached his ears.

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><p>"Hey, are you all right?" Layla called out to the large purple alien that had emerged from the flaming wreckage. She had been too scared to call out, until she noticed the wounds all over his body, bleeding purple blood. As she called out, he turned to face her. She put a hand in front of her mouth to stop herself from making a startled noise.<p>

His eyes were black, with no pupils. But his mouth was what had scared her; it was in a grimace, and with his ridged chin and large figure, it made him very imposing. His helmet and battle armor, colored blue with gold edging, didn't help. Oh, she hoped he was a friendly alien.

She slowly approached him, hands in front of her in what she hoped was a universal sign for "I don't mean you harm", which was a laugh; she highly doubted she could harm him even if she wanted to.

"You're hurt. I can help; at least, I think I can help. If you let me, of course, I wouldn't force you." She realized that she was rambling, and she didn't even know if this purple alien spoke English! Still slowly walking towards him, she also realized he was bigger up close. He was at least three heads taller than her!

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><p>The small human female continued to edge towards him, her brown-hair moving about in the wind, prattling on about helping him. As if he wasn't upset enough, he apparently looked enough of a wreck that a human was taking pity on him. And yet, he was injured badly. While he did not mind being killed in combat, dying in this pitiful way would not be worthy of his Lady Death.<p>

He would need a place to stay, and to build a new ship. He was tempted to kill the female standing in front of him, as thoughts of murder were never far from his mind, but she could prove beneficial. He would have to play it smart, but seeing as many humans were idiots, it would probably take little effort on his part to fool her.

Quickly scanning her mind, he was bemused to find that she wasn't sure if he spoke her native tongue.

_I suppose she is in for a surprise, then._

"I speak your language, if that is a primary concern of yours. And in anticipation of future queries you might have, I am indeed an alien. I hail from a faraway planet, a planet of great beauty and prosperity. However, my planet was taken over by a savage race. I escaped in my ship, but they gave chase, and shot down my ship mercilessly, as you can see."

The female looked surprised, which gave Thanos a small sense of satisfaction. Perhaps it was a tad petty, but he enjoyed causing other beings to feel bewilderment in their lack of knowledge. The next part, however, might prove to be tricky.

"If I could bother you for a place to stay, I would be most appreciative. I would also need to build a ship, to return to my home planet." Thanos managed to keep a straight face while telling this ridiculous tale. Judging by the female's face, it seemed to be having the wanted effect, though.

"O-of course. My house is just down the street, you can stay there. But why would you need to build a ship? Why not just fix up the one you already have?" Getting over his surprise of how fast she accepted him into her household, Thanos realized her questions were well-founded. His ship no doubt still contained the bodies of the various Skrulls. If she were to see such a sight, he didn't know what would ensue.

It was best to tell a half truth, then.

"The enemy may have a trace on my ship. If I don't destroy it, I risk having the enemy follow me to this planet," Thanos explained, and it wasn't a lie; he knew that the Nova Corps could track his ship based off the unique Tesseract energy it ran on. He couldn't have them locate him in his weakened state.

The female looked at his ship, squinting a bit. Turning back to him, he braced himself for another question.

"Well, how do we destroy the ship? Most of the neighbors are gone, but if you blow it up, that would still bring a lot of attention." Thanos was pleased that he had an easy answer for this one. Reaching into one of the pockets on his suit, he pulled out the Tesseract, its pulsating light reflecting on his face. Holding it out towards the ship, Thanos smirked when he noticed the female gawking again.

Closing his eyes, Thanos concentrated his energy on the cube. He felt his power flowing into the cube, and as the cube began to glow brighter and brighter, the broken ship began to get sucked into a portal the Tesseract had produced. In a few moments, it was gone, completely silently. It was almost as if the wreckage had never existed. Putting the cube back in his pocket, Thanos turned back to the female, hands folded behind his back.

"Um, wow. I've never seen anything like that before," she breathed. Humans were easily impressed.

"Unless we have further business here, I suggest we head towards your living area," Thanos said, because standing here for the next ten minutes as she went into awe over every little thing would get tiresome. Jolting her head up as if she had forgotten, she nodded, and they began a brisk walk towards what Thanos easily assumed was her house. Decent-sized. It would do.

As they reached the front porch, the female gasped, and stopped. Thanos nearly banged into her.

"What?" he growled, almost forgetting to keep up his polite facade. The female grinned sheepishly.

"I am so sorry, but I never even asked your name. That was rude of me. My name is Layla Dunham." She seemed earnest, and Thanos saw no reason to not tell her. He would kill her after he was all healed anyway, and his name wasn't well known on this planet. He was also mad at himself, however, for not thinking to learn her name when he scanned her mind.

* * *

><p>After she had given her name, Layla quickly held a hand out, and almost retracted it. What if his species didn't shake hands? She mentally breathed a sigh of relief when one of his large, gloved hands grabbed hers.<p>

"Thanos," he replied. She could already tell he was one of those guys who wouldn't beat around the bush. Smiling at him, to put him at ease, she noticed his eyes weren't black anymore. They looked like normal, pupil-filled eyes.

"Do your eyes normally change like that?" she asked, hoping she wasn't crossing a line of privacy. He looked confused for a moment.

"Ah," he replied after a moment. "My eyes have been known to change, depending on the mood I am currently in. For obvious reasons, I myself wouldn't notice. Does that bother you?" He raised an eyebrow, or at least, the ridge above his eye where his eyebrow would have been. He didn't seem to have any hair on his head.

"No, not really," she lied. Layla still wasn't entirely sure how safe the alien – Thanos was, and she didn't want to offend. Turning to go back in the house, she felt him put a hand on her shoulder. Turning her head back questioningly, she saw him frowning.

"One last thing: don't tell anyone about me. You wouldn't want them to get involved, would you?" For the first time, Layla wondered if bringing this stranger into her house was a good idea. It would be a long night…

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>

1: The Skrulls are an alien race of shapeshifters, and are the Kree's mortal enemies.

Well, that's it for the first chapter, hopefully the first of many. One more thing I'm trying out with this fic, as you probably noticed, is adding little tidbits of info at the end of the chapter for fans only familiar with the film universe. Is that a good idea, or too distracting? Once again, thanks in advance for any feedback!


	2. Inside

**For those wondering about the time-line...I didn't necessarily place this in the MCU. However, since this is the film section, I would say this takes place sometime after _Guardians of the Galaxy_ and _Avengers 2_ (and whichever _Avengers_ film Thanos first fights in). I will bring up the whole Loki thing eventually.**

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><p>Shrugging off her coat and removing her boots, she turned to Thanos, who was standing silently on the porch. Now that she thought about it, he didn't look that cold for someone who was standing in brisk air with very-torn clothing.<p>

"Come in, come in," she stressed, grabbing him by an arm, and pulling him in, though she had the distinct impression he was letting her pull him. The man looked very heavy.

Leading him into her living room, she grabbed a chair from the kitchen, and told him to sit down.

"OK, your wounds may need disinfecting. I have some medical alcohol here, and some cotton swabs. I also have some bandages, for the wounds, and –"she realized she was gabbing a lot, but she supposed she still hadn't gotten over her shock yet. Thanos held up a hand to silence her.

"You may leave the bandages. My wounds will heal on their own, although the disinfectant is welcome." Well, she couldn't say no to him. She nodded, briefly considering removing his shirt….but no, that was too embarrassing, and besides, it looked very difficult to remove, even with all the holes and tears. She couldn't see any zippers or buttons. All the wounds he had were in the places that were torn, anyway, so she would just wipe there.

She grabbed a swab and she doused it lightly with the alcohol. She glanced at Thanos, whose face was unreadable.

"This might sting. Is that okay?" Thanos gave her a look as if he was offended she would ask that.

"I have faced much worse," he said resolutely. Taking him for his word, she pressed the cotton to his most nasty wound, on his forearm. He didn't so much as breathe in sharply, so he obviously wasn't bluffing. She continued for about half an hour, leaving the gash on his forehead for last.

"You may want to close your eyes, in case the alcohol runs down your face," she warned him, before moving in. Thanos was tall enough that she had to stand up to reach his head, even though he was sitting down. She was uncomfortably close; she could feel his breath, which wasn't very pleasant.

To her surprise, the gash had already stopped bleeding, as had most of the other wounds. She began to wonder if his medical emergency had been exaggerated.

"You seem very experienced at this, as if you have had previous exposure to this kind of situation before." Layla almost dropped the cotton, not expecting Thanos to initiate a conversation.

"Well, I teach a bunch of little kids. The rascals always get into accidents, so knowing at least this much is a must. I'm no doctor, though, trust me. If you needed stitches, I would not be your girl."

Since that she didn't need it any longer, Layla threw the cotton in the garbage she had nearby, before stifling a yawn; her body was tired. Thanos was probably worse off, having survived a nasty crash.

"Well, I suppose you'll want some rest now. My house isn't huge, but I do have two bedrooms. One is mine, obviously, but no one else lives here, so you can have the other one." Thanos stretched, his muscles cracking.

"One glance at this house tells me there are at least five rooms. How is it you only have two bedrooms?" Geez, he was observant.

"Well, most of the other rooms don't have any more space for a bed. I use one of them for keeping all my books, and another as a study. I go there to grade my kid's papers, and things like that." She stopped herself, not wanting to bore her alien guest with details. Thanos simply nodded.

Assuming that was her cue to lead him to his sleeping quarters, she went into the hallway and headed up the stairs, assuming he'd follow, which he did, judging from the heavy footsteps behind her. The stairs creaked with every step he took, and she made a mental note to check tomorrow if they were damaged.

* * *

><p>As he followed her up the stairs, Thanos had to admit that the female hadn't done an awful job with his wounds. He would make her death even more glorious for his Lady. But for now, he was feeling mildly taxed, and a bit of sleep wouldn't hurt him. On the way to the staircase, he had noticed another set of stairs, leading down, presumably to a sub-level.<p>

His active mind already made plans to check it out after the house's owner went to bed. If he was to build a new ship, underground would be the ideal location; there would be less prying eyes, and if any small explosions should happen, it could hopefully be at least partially contained.

Their journey ended when the female stopped at a closed door, and grasped the handle. Following her inside, the first thing he noticed was that the air smelled somewhat decrepit. It was obvious the room hadn't been used much at all. Still, there was a bed, which was basically all Thanos required. It wasn't like he would be here for a long period of time anyway.

"I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of male clothing, but luckily, I do have some pajamas that belong to my father. I hope they fit!" the female's voice called from the closet. Thanos crossed his arms.

She exited the closet, holding light blue pajamas. Thanos stared. They didn't look uncomfortable, but it was like nothing he had ever worn before, of that he was sure. She tossed it to him, and he caught it obligingly.

She quickly went to the window, and after a bit of effort, managed to yank it open, letting in some much-needed fresh air.

"You can put that on, and I'll just leave the room, so you can do it in private. Well, I guess I'll head to bed now, so good night." and with a hesitant smile, she exited the room, not giving him time to reply, although he wasn't sure if he would have at all.

When the door closed with a click, Thanos tore off the rags he was wearing, and decided to chance putting on the clothing he had been graciously (?) given. He attempted to slip one arm through a sleeve-and he couldn't. It was impossible, as his arms were way too large. He imagined the woman's father wasn't very muscular, but then, even the most muscular human might still prove to be smaller. Thanos huffed in annoyance.

Tossing the pajamas on a dresser, Thanos decided his own clothing was best. Concentrating hard on his torn battle armor, he began to "fix" it, but in no way a human could. The tears began to close, as Thanos manipulated the molecules, stretching them. It wouldn't be a perfect mending, but until he could find (or build) a new one, it would have to do.

Holding the now-repaired armor at arm's length, Thanos decided he was satisfied with his work. With nothing else of consequence to do, getting rest was the ideal next step, and a glance at the bed showed that it would at least be mildly comfortable. It was only after he got in the bed that he realized the problem.

The bed was much too small for his large frame. His legs folded off the edge of the bed, touching the carpet-covered floor. Gritting his teeth, the Mad Titan gave up on sleeping for the night. Perhaps it was time to start re-building his ship, among other things.

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><p>When Layla got up the next morning to the cheerful sounds of birds chirping, she went through some of her usual routine, which included getting dressed in casual clothing, washing her face, brushing her teeth, and making her bed, the latter of which she always told herself there was no point, because when you lived alone, who would know? Her mom had really drilled it into her, she supposed. Old habits die hard. She caught herself almost putting on the clothes she was going to wear to school, despite the fact that it was Saturday.<p>

It was only when she was on her way to the kitchen to make breakfast that she remembered the events of last night. It would have been easy to believe it was a dream, but that was what people in films always assumed. She rushed to the second bedroom, which was empty. She wondered if had left in the middle of the night.

_Would he have left without saying good-bye, or even thanks? Well, I can't pretend to know alien customs. But still, that would have been nice…_

She was almost disappointed. The only exciting thing to ever happen to her was already over? Her thoughts were stopped from getting too depressing when she heard some noises from her basement.

Not knowing what to expect, she grabbed the nearest blunt object, which happened to be a cloth hangar from the closet.

She knew it was stupid, going down the stairs to the basement with only that for a weapon…but meeting and interacting with a scary, purple alien must have made her braver. That's what she told herself as she descended. When she reached the bottom, her mouth fell open, which was something she had been doing a lot recently.

Her basement was unrecognizable. What had once been a dark, dank, almost empty room (aside from some random furniture), was now a bright, almost sci-fi styled haven. Wires, lights, and computers were almost everywhere. The ceiling had some kind of antennae, only they were facing downwards. There was no more moss on the walls; in fact, the walls had gone from black to silver. Was that steel?

In the back of the room, where there had previously been a discarded, hole-ridden sofa, was the largest computer in the room, and what seemed to be the central one. In front of the computer screen was a large seat, and Thanos was sitting on it, leaning forward, reading whatever was on screen.

Even though she hadn't made any noise or sound, Thanos swiveled his seat around to look at her. Startled, she blurted out a morning greeting. He simply nodded his bald head (his helmet was next to the computer's expansive keyboard) and turned back around. For a few moments, there was an awkward silence, as she searched for something to say. She always encouraged her students to ask questions, so she would start there.

"You're really smart, aren't you?" she asked. She winced at how timid her voice sounded.

"I'd like to think so." Thanos didn't even turn around this time.

_Stupid, stupid. Of course he's smart, he can drive a spaceship. Why did you ask him that?_

"Did you set all this up while I was sleeping? That must have been hard," because anything she said now would be better than the question she had previously asked.

Thanos finally turned around again, and shrugged.

"It wasn't as difficult a task as you might be imagining. This is hardly the first time I've had to create a make-shift lab in a foreign location. And I didn't begin this morning, as you might be assuming, I began last night."

"Last night? Didn't you get any sleep at all?" Layla decided it was best to focus on that last part. Thanos looked surprised that she had asked that, as well.

"I'm afraid my size made sleeping on the spare bed a chore. I'm afraid your father's clothing will not do either." and she once again mentally kicked herself.

"But…aren't you tired?" She didn't want her fancy alien guest to leave thinking she was an awful person who gave him the wrong size clothing and bed. For some reason, the thought of Thanos telling his alien friends that Earth had horrible hospitality was not appealing.

"No, I'm not. I can go many days without the need to sleep or replenish my energy," and was it just her, or was he starting to look annoyed? Maybe she was asking too many questions. Oh, but she knew what might raise the mood!

"I was just about to prepare breakfast, and since you're already up, I may as well make some for you!" Thanos shook his head.

"I do not need any nourishment at this time. Also, I am busy installing a cloaking program to this computer. If any of the beings chasing mean try to find me using a tracking device or satellite, this will jam those signals." She laughed, not at him, but because he lost her with all that tech-talk.

"Oh c'mon, I'm sure you've got to be at least a bit hungry! You haven't eaten since before that crash. Now, I won't hear another word. I hope you like eggs." and she went back up the stairs before he could answer.

* * *

><p>Thanos watched her go. Eating some of her Earth food wouldn't hurt, he supposed. He could go for long periods of time without needing to ingest anything, but she wouldn't know that. Turning back to his computer, he began to create a diagram of a ship. Once he was done with calculations, all he would need were the materials to build it.<p>

It was a shame he would have to kill his host. She had nothing but kind thoughts; he would know, as he had read her mind more than once, making sure she wasn't some clever enemy. He had nothing against her; in fact, she was one of the few people to ever show him a shred of kindness. She was even concerned over his possible lack of rest! But that is why she would make a fitting tribute to Death.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

You're probably thinking I'm crazy trying to pair these two up when one of them is already planning to kill the other. That makes it interesting, though. ;)

For those who want more action, there definitely will be some later on (if you've read my other Avenger's fic, you know I can bring the action). I just need to introduce some more characters.


	3. She Knew Too Much

"Tony, could you come to the conference room?" Tony looked up upon hearing Pepper's voice over the intercom. The various men who had been yelling all around the circular table Tony had been sitting on fell quiet as well. After a brief pause, Tony stood up, glad for an excuse to get away from this faculty meeting, which had become boring half an hour ago.

"Sorry, gentleman. I'll have to take that call, but I'll be back in – well, it depends how pressing the matter is, but it shouldn't take more than an hour," and with that, Tony exited the boardroom, a spring in his step.

Taking the elevator over twenty floors up, Tony had time to once again admire the Avengers Tower. He had helped fund and build it, but dang, was it a piece of awesome work. Most of the Avengers lived here, and Tony could also hold Stark Industries meetings here. There was also a hotel on the lower floors, laboratories, a restaurant, and other places that Tony planned to open once he had time.

Time, though, was something he didn't normally have. As the head of a company, and an Avenger, free time was few and far between. He was thankful that Pepper was so understanding.

The elevator finally stopped at the intended floor. Tony straightened his tie, and walked out to meet Pepper.

"Hey, Pep. Is Captain America calling one of his emergency meetings again?" Pepper smiled and shook her head.

"No, actually. Fury is on the untraceable line, which probably means it's something top secret. Well, I guess most of SHIELD's business is top secret. Rogers is already in the room, because he's punctual, by the way." The last part of her explanation came out teasingly accusatory. Tony raised his hands in defense.

"Hey now, I bet Rogers didn't have to attend a board meeting for over two hours," Tony defended, almost pouting. Pepper gave Tony's shoulder a friendly punch, and walked away.

Inside the conference room, Captain America was already sitting down at the round table, which wasn't quite as large as the one in the boardroom, but a large, fancy "A" embroidered on the surface. The red, white, and blue Avenger was sipping from a coffee mug; you certainly couldn't say that Pepper didn't serve refreshments.

Fury's face was already plastered on the screen in front of the table. Tony gave Fury a wave and a grin before sitting down himself, leaning back with his hands behind his head. Fury glared daggers at him.

"Now that you're both here, I won't mice words. SWORD had some interesting news to inform me of earlier today. Apparently, an unidentified flying object crashed down on our planet. However, its energy signature vanished before SWORD could get a proper fix on it."

"So, there are aliens on Earth, and we don't have a clue where?" Tony had nothing against aliens (Thor was kind of an alien, right? Thor was cool. And the Avengers had met this group called the Guardians of the Galaxy, and they got along fine), but most aliens had the tendency to be pretty nasty. Tony only had to think about Loki, Thanos, and the Kree and Skrull.

"Not exactly," Fury continued. "We don't have an exact crash-site; however, SWORD was able to get an estimated range. I will send you the co-ordinates." The screen Fury was on divided into two separate screens; Fury's mug was still on one, but the other contained a map, with a glowing circle around an area.

"So we have to comb through miles and miles to find a ship that might be destroyed anyway? That could take weeks!" Stark groaned. That's what he had meant when he said he had no free time!

"We'll do it, sir," Mr. Boyscout said, saluting Fury. Fury nodded at Cap briskly, before addressing both of them.

"We don't know if this is the start of another invasion or not. But if it is, finding this ship could be imperative to stopping a war before it happens. Do I make myself clear?" This time, Stark nodded along with Rogers.

* * *

><p>Layla picked up the tray, and carefully tread down the stairs. Tripping now, and dropping all the food, would be the most embarrassing thing she could do. She would probably ask Thanos to just end her misery.<p>

When she finally reached the bottom, she sighed through her nose. Fixing a smile on her face, she briskly walked to Thanos, and placed the tray on the console in front of him, next to the glowing cube he had used earlier to warp away his ship. He looked up disinterestedly.

"Since I didn't know what you would like, I piled the tray with four egg omelets, two loaves of buttered toast, one croissant, and three pancakes. Have you ever tried these?" Thanos looked like he was making a decision in his head.

"No, I have never eaten food like this," he finally admitted. Layla hoped Earth food wouldn't turn him off. She knew that if she was on an alien planet, she'd hesitate to try anything, even if she was starving.

It turned out that was something she didn't need to concern herself with; despite the huge platter of food she gave him, he wolfed it down in probably less than a minute, and downed the glass of orange juice even quicker.

"Ah, see. You were hungry," she couldn't help but gloat a bit. Thanos made a choking noise.

* * *

><p>Thanos almost choked. She had completely mangled his intentions. He had hoped that by hurrying, she would get the message that he was far too preoccupied to waste any time indulging in food, and he was only eating to get that out of the way. Instead, she got the idea into her head that he had been famished.<p>

"It was…good. Now if you excuse me, I have to finalize some things." Thanos got up from his seat, holding a large screwdriver, to add some touches to the ship he was building. He had started to build the ship after Layla had gone upstairs to fix breakfast. He was decently far along. It could be done in even just a week's time. Then he could get off this forsaken planet.

"That looks hard," the female said absently, and Thanos could tell she was trying to make "small talk" for the sake of noise. He hated when people spat out empty words; it was a waste of time. Ignoring her, he got to work for the next few minutes. He screwed a bolt in here, a bolt in there; it was tedious work, but the fruit of his labor would be beneficial.

He was painstakingly screwing in a noticeably minute nail when the female gasped. As he accidently broke the nail, he turned around angrily.

"What?" he barked, before realizing what she was doing. She had been reading though his computer, probably out of curiosity. She had one hand over her mouth, and she was looking at him, and certainly not in a positive way. She had been reading his weapon plans!

"What…what is this? It sounds like a plan to murder people. It - it says right here." She was sounding frightful, but also hopeful, that he could somehow clear the whole misunderstanding up - except there was no misunderstanding. Thanos sighed. She knew more than she was supposed to. This was his fault for writing his plans in her language. He would have to kill her now. Thanos pushed down a twinge of regret.

* * *

><p>Layla had randomly browsed the console while Thanos was busy with his ship. She had been bored, and hadn't seen the harm. She probably wouldn't understand half the lingo anyway. At first, most of the pages she found were what looked like schematics for various objects. But one of them had caught her eye. The reason was that it looked like a pointy gun, the kind that aliens always had in the movies, except this one was huge, as if it would go on the end of a large spaceship.<p>

She was sure there must be an explanation. And as she read on, the instructions actually in English (_It truly is the universal language, huh?_ She thought wildly) it talked about all these crazy ideals, about killing people to appease…a lady?

She turned to Thanos, thinking maybe he could explain things to her. Her heart almost stopped when she saw his eyes were that black color again, and he was walking towards her. She tried to back-up, but that computer was behind her, and there was nowhere to go.

"It's true, Layla. I do plan to kill every single human on Earth. My lady Death demands it. I'm afraid that includes you." Layla tried to answer, but her voice caught in her throat, and all that came out was a pathetic squeak. Thanos looked amused.

"Afraid? Of course, you have every right to be. For most people, death is something to be afraid of. Not me. I'm in love with her. I am driven to please her." Layla felt tears trickling down her eyes. Of course this alien was evil. Why hadn't she trusted her better judgment? Why had she assumed he'd be a peaceful, kind alien?

"One should never assume such things. Sometimes, appearances aren't deceiving at all." Layla looked up at him, trying to comprehend. Thanos laughed.

"Oh, you didn't know? My dear, I can read your thoughts as clear as if you were speaking to me." She should have known. That's how he had known what she was about to ask after he had emerged from the wreckage.

It hurt, that he had been playing around with her this whole time. How he must have laughed at her behind her back!

"This can't be happening," she whispered. Thanos moved closer, raising a fist, which was now glowing, a subdued yellow color.

"I assure you, this is reality. If it is any consolation, I will make this painless." And with that, a blast of bright energy erupted from his fist, knocking her straight in the chest. Letting out a gasp, she fell against the computer with a crash, hard enough that she knew she had broken something.

Thanos was a liar. She was in pain; the energy was burning, slowly killing her. She could tell that she was dying. Fear seized through her.

_I don't want to die. Not like this. I never got to say goodbye to my parents, or my students!_

She feebly reached out to grab something, and grasped onto the computer's keyboard. Thanos just stood there, no doubt waiting for her to die. At least, she thought he was there; her vision was getting blurry.

As her hand scrambled across the keyboard aimlessly, her fingers touched something. It felt like glass, but it wasn't the monitor. It felt hot and cold at the same time, and it felt like it was pulsing. Thanos began to stride towards her suddenly, and deciding she didn't like that, she grabbed whatever she was touching, and cradled it to her chest.

She felt warmth go through her, like she had ingested a powerful battery. She absently noticed that whatever she held in her hands was gone (_I must have dropped it_), but she didn't have time to dwell on that. She was feeling remarkably light-headed. The room was swaying from side-to-side. She only managed to make a humming noise before fainting dead away, not even noticing when someone caught her.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>:

Quick note: SWORD, who was mentioned near the beginning, is the space division of SHIELD from the comics. They haven't been introduced to the MCU yet.

Anyway...that escalated fast. I know most readers weren't expecting Thanos to try and kill Layla so soon. Of course, this also makes my job harder trying to pair them up! :P Wish me luck.


	4. Stuck

Thanos was not a fan of his plans being disrupted, especially when it was a human who was the cause. Sometimes, he humored the possibility that Lady Luck was cursing him. Obviously, that was a bunch of nonsense.

And yet, he did have some unfortunate events happen to him, one after the other. And now, the Tesseract had somehow embedded itself inside his host's body. This was a predicament Thanos had not anticipated. If he destroyed her body, he also risked destroying the Tesseract. While the Tesseract was not as vital as the Infinity Gems were, it was certainly a convenient item to possess, as it powered almost all the devices that had been in use – including his ship.

And he was mysteriously relieved that she was alive. The crash must have messed with his head.

Thanos dragged the woman's body to his electronic scanner, which he had previously used to find hidden properties in various minerals. He had never intended to use it to locate an object inside someone's body before. Thanos placed her on the slab, and folded the other half of the machine over her unconscious body. He supposed it resembled what humans called a "tanning salon".

He connected the scanner to his main computer via cable, hoping he could find a way to surgically remove the cube. A few minutes of scanning later, and he was coming up with zilch. It was peculiar; even using the x-ray, he could find no trace of any square-shaped objects in her body. He was certain the cube had phased itself into her!

The silence was broken by a groan, signifying that the female was waking from her untimely slumber. Thanos was tempted to mentally knock her unconscious once more, but perhaps this ordeal would be easier if she were awake.

"Where am I?" was the first question out of her mouth, as she tried to get up, only to bang her head against the top of the machine, slightly lifting the top half. She grunted, falling back down. Turning her head left and right, she finally seemed to gather her bearings. She began to breath heavily.

"So this wasn't a dream." It amazed Thanos how some lower life forms could manage to stay in denial for so long!

"Of course it wasn't," he growled at her, quickly losing whatever patience he still had. He stomped towards her, placing his large hand on the top of the scanner, lowering it again.

"Why am I in here? I thought you were going to kill me," her voice wavered. Thanos glared at her, realizing he would have to explain the whole mess. He didn't feel like taking what would most likely be ten minutes to explain to her feeble mind all that had transpired, so he took a shortcut with his telepathy, and beamed it all to her.

She was silent, drinking it in. Her face grew pale, so she must have gone down some dark conclusion.

"Please, get it out. This Tesseract thing is like a battery, right? I don't want something like that in my body!" Thanos had never heard anyone call one of the strongest devices on the universe a battery…but that was a surprisingly apt description.

"I wouldn't be so upset about it if I were you," Thanos informed her, leaning over. "Unlike your Earth batteries, the Tesseract doesn't give off any radiation, and has never been known to harm anyone in possession of it. Besides…it is the only thing keeping you alive at the moment." Oh, that got her attention very fast.

"What? I don't understand." There wasn't much she did, apparently.

"I can't risk killing you. Doing so could damage or even destroy the Tesseract, which is something I'll be avoiding to the best of my ability. Trust me, I would have already removed it if I could, but I can't seem to locate it."

"It's gone? I don't think so. I can feel it…I think," and Thanos wasted no time grilling her for information.

"Where do you feel it? I have already checked most of your body. What have I missed?" Her reply took far too long for his taste, but she seemed unsure of herself.

"It's strange. I feel it, but not in a physical way. It's like….I don't know, like it melted." She shrank back when Thanos stood up, but he hadn't even meant to intimidate her that time. He was almost ashamed of himself. Why hadn't he thought of that? No, the Tesseract hadn't melted, but he had foolishly assumed it would still be in a physical form.

"Hmm. Perhaps the Tesseract has become ethereal, in order to accommodate your body. I will need to look into this." Despite himself, Thanos was vaguely intrigued. The Tesseract had never done that as long as he had been with it, but then, he had never tried to force it inside his own body. Changing the frequency on the scanner, he also switched the lens, which would block out all solid matter. The Tesseract's energy, if Thanos had made the right changes, should pop up in the color yellow, with foreign energy sources coming up red.

Thanos flicked the switch, not even realizing he was holding his breath. He could almost feel the girl squirm, and he snapped at her to stay still. Brightening the screen, Thanos pressed the button to activate the scanner. A diagram of her body blinked on the monitor. And there was plenty of yellow.

To the amazement of Thanos, the yellow was almost literally all over the screen. It seemed the Tesseract's energy was flowing through the female's blood stream.

"Is that good? Oh god, please tell me that's good!" Thanos snapped out of his thoughts, and flicked off the screen. Turning on the basement's lights, Thanos opened the scanner, letting her up.

"It is good…for you. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to remove the Tesseract's energy from your body. Until I find a way, I will have to stay here. You will not be allowed to leave nor have guests over. You will also be under heavy surveillance, in case you consider suicide, or some other form of drastic action. Is that clear?"

* * *

><p>Layla, in the course of a few hours, had gone from griping about her boring life to desperately wishing she could have it back. The fact of the matter was that she was terrified. And now Thanos was explaining to her how her life was about to get even worse.<p>

She wasn't scared of the Tesseract anymore. Apparently, she should actually be on the ground thanking it. She was alive, and Thanos had made it clear the cube was the reason. No matter what, she had to make sure it stayed inside her. Of course, she didn't even know how to get it out in the first place.

The problem was, she didn't know what to do now. Here she was, in her basement, with a creepy purple alien. They had nothing to talk about, and the silence was getting to her. Looking at him, she could only wonder why she hadn't realized he was evil just by looking at him. He even had the stereotypically large chin.

She sighed. She always tried to give people the benefit of the doubt. And now look where it got her. She could try calling the police...but she had a feeling Thanos would know, and she'd pay for it.

Layla took one last glance at Thanos before heading up the stairs. She wasn't sure what he was planning to do, but at the very least, she did have some papers to grade.

_Am I insane? Grading papers at a time like this?_

She knew there was a word for when someone pretended that everything was normal, so that they could avoid thinking about the elephant in the room. It was true; to stop herself from going insane with worry, she would do something she did every Saturday night: grading her student's papers.

She walked inside her study, trying not to walk too timidly (she didn't want to give Thanos the satisfaction), but also not walking too loudly (because she also really didn't want him to think she was rebelling). She supposed it didn't matter. He could read her thoughts, so he could learn her intentions anyway, if he were so inclined.

The previous week, she had given her students a free-form assignment to write about what they most liked about their family. That felt like a lifetime ago. She had collected the papers on Friday, but hadn't had the chance to read them. At the very least, they'd be a nice distraction from her current living situation.

* * *

><p>Thanos had returned to the guest room, lamenting the fact that he would have to remain for the time being. He had made sure to cloak the house from any censors, ensuring that no one would be able to detect anything out of the ordinary.<p>

Conserving energy was high priority. Thanos lay down on the bed, forgetting the problem he had the previous night.

_I really should build another bed. If I can build a ship, a bed should be child's play. Perhaps tomorrow._

Closing his eyes, and waiting for sleep to claim him, his tense body finally relaxed. Quickly reliving the past day through his mind, as he did every night to make sure he didn't forget or miss anything, he had to admit to himself that Layla hadn't behaved as he had figured. She hadn't screamed, or cried, or tried to run away at all. Most humans he knew were worthless cowards.

When had he started thinking of her as Layla, and not female?

_I must be more tired than I thought._

With that, Thanos drifted off to sleep, hoping to dream about his Lady Death, as he often did.

* * *

><p>Tony Stark was wondering why he and his team were walking around aimlessly in the middle of some suburbs in New Mexico. It turned out, that when Fury told them that SWORD had, <em>at least,<em> an approximate landing site for the ship, it wasn't _too_ exact. To be more precise, it could be anywhere in New Mexico.

_Fancy that, a spaceship that might be in New Mexico. Shocking!_ Tony couldn't help the bitter thoughts that went through his head. It didn't help that the weather wasn't that nice. It was the middle of Autumn, dang it, and he was cold.

He didn't even need to be cold. After all, he had his armor. But Fury and Cap had convinced him that if he wore it, any alien would take one look and bolt. Tony sullenly leaned against a tree.

"Do we even have a plan?" he griped to Steve, who was also in civilian clothing. Steve was also wearing shades, which actually made him look pretty suspicious, but Tony didn't feel like bringing that up just yet.

"Well…I will admit, this wasn't as thought-out as I would have liked. I especially don't like the idea of knocking at random houses, asking about aliens. It isn't right," and Tony was amazed that of all things, THAT was what made him dislike the mission.

Stark turned to the two others who had signed for the mission, Clint and Thor. Widow had been away on another mission (_lucky her_, Tony had thought), and Banner had politely declined. No one had wanted to force him, so…

"Don't you have that device that would help you locate an alien?" Clint looked pointedly at a walkie-talkie looking device that Stark had been holding. Only it wasn't a communication device.

"It isn't that simple, Robin Hood. Think of this device as a metal detector, but for aliens. I built this based off the brain waves that the Kree and Skrull give off. The problem is, if our mystery invader has a completely different physiology than the aforementioned, my device wouldn't light up. Also, if the alien can somehow hide his own brain signals, we could also be out of luck."

This was one more thing Tony hated about this mission: the chance factor. Stark was a man of science, and he hated to leave things to chance like this. The way things were going, they didn't even know if their alien visitor had already split!

"I hope not. I look forward to dealing with this invader!" Thor proclaimed after Tony had voiced his displeasure. Hawkeye gave Thor a thumbs up.

"Don't encourage him," Tony groaned. Rogers sighed, and the group took that as a signal to keep moving. As seemingly fruitless as this was, they were determined to find the alien.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>:

Yeah, not much of a cliff-hanger, but I wanted to end with the Avengers for some reason.

For anyone reading this, any complaints or comments?


	5. Family

Thanos opened his eyes. At first puzzled as to what had roused him, he soon came to the conclusion that it was the bright sunlight pouring from the windows. He couldn't even recall when he had last woken up to light, as he had spent many days either in his dark ship, or on the solitary hunk of rock he gave orders from.

Getting up from the small but admittedly warm bed, Thanos shoved the curtains, intending for them to mask the glare of the sun. He pulled with too much force, however, and the curtains ripped from the steel bars, letting even more light in. Growling under his breath, Thanos stomped from the room. He was already in a foul mood, and the day had just begun.

It wasn't just the light, though. It was also the fact that he hadn't been able to commune with his lady in his dreams the previous night. Was Death avoiding him? No, Thanos refused to entertain the thought.

A quick glance across the hall at Layla's room told him she wasn't inside, or if she was, she had left the door open, and hadn't slept in her bed. He had a hunch she would be in the same room where she had been reading those papers the previous night.

His hunch proved to be correct. She appeared to have fallen asleep while reading, as her body was hunched over the wooden table, her face resting on one of the reports. She was snoring, too. Having nothing else to do, Thanos quietly grabbed one of the papers. As far as reading material went, it was especially short, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Thanos swept his eyes over the page, and its infantile handwriting and tone, apparently written by a "Kevin". It would be amusing to read this aloud.

"My family is the coolest ever. My father and mother are the greatest parents in the world, even if they can get mad and ground me, but I forgive them anyway, because I love them. My little sister stinks, but I love her too. But don't tell her." Thanos snickered at the sentimental foolishness.

"Don't laugh," a groggy voice spoke up. Reading the paper out loud must have wakened Layla, not that Thanos cared.

"Why shouldn't I? It was terribly written, and the boy's love of family is pathetic." Thanos dropped the paper on the ground. Layla snatched it up, placing it back on the desk.

"He's in the second grade. Do you expect Shakespeare level writing from him?" She sounded exasperated. Thanos wasn't familiar with Shakespeare, but it was obvious he held a high literary status on this planet.

"On my planet, children at a younger age had better writing skills. I believe the teachers here are lacking at their job, or humans are mentally inferior." Layla looked offended and also a bit skeptical.

"How would you know? Did you attend school?" Thanos crossed his arms, not liking her tone.

"As a matter of fact, I did. I was at the top of my class, which had the negative reaction of my classmates shunning me. Of course, my looks had something to do with it as well." She still didn't look convinced.

"Is it so hard to believe?" Thanos asked incredulously. He had already proven to her how smart he was. Did she assume it was self-taught? Layla's look softened.

* * *

><p>"Sorry, I guess you just don't seem like the type to sit down in a classroom and write things down for a teacher," Layla semi-apologized. She could see why his classmates wouldn't get along with him though. She quickly forced herself to stop thinking like that, in case Thanos read her mind again. Luckily, it seemed he hadn't caught that thought.<p>

"Anyway, I don't like it when people unfairly criticize my students. They're just kids, and in this case, I thought he did a wonderful job. I told the kids to write about why they love their family. Why would you be against that? Even you must have loved your family." She wished she hadn't said that. Thanos had stopped smirking, and his eyes had grown dark again.

"Not especially, no. Actually, I hated my parents, and they hated me. My mother tried to kill me when I was an infant, and my father was ashamed of me. If I don't have any lost love for them, you'll have to excuse me." His tone was bitter. His family was definitely a sore subject. Layla knew that pushing the subject was dumb, but she was a nosy person, and even though this alien would probably kill her, she wanted to help, if she could.

"But you were a kid, right? You could make up with them, perhaps. I'm sure by now it's all water under the bridge." Thanos laughed, but not in a happy way.

"I don't think that will be possible. You see, I killed them many years ago." Layla opened her mouth, and then closed it. How could she respond to that? It was horrible. All her sympathy suddenly vanished. She had never met someone who had murdered a family member (at least, not that she knew of), and it was hard to imagine. She loved her own parents dearly; the thought of killing them made her sick.

Thanos turned to leave, probably deciding he was done with the conversation. Layla was glad. She didn't think she'd be able to be around him right now, not without thinking some nasty things about him.

* * *

><p>Thanos walked downstairs, not even sure what his destination was. He acted like a fool back there. He hadn't meant to go on a rant about his past, but it just came out. He had never told anyone, not a single soul, about his parents. Everyone needed to vent once in awhile, but to a human?<p>

Breathing deeply to calm himself, Thanos found himself in the kitchen. Maybe eating would help him steady himself. He certainly couldn't afford to be so emotionally vulnerable in front of Layla again. It was this Kevin's fault. If Thanos hadn't read the brat's paper, those old feelings wouldn't have come out.

_Well, good for the young one, having loving parents. I, however, have no need of people to coddle me. I have done fine without anyone like that in my life, and I plan to continue it that way._

His thoughts were getting increasingly bitter. He needed to distract himself, and preparing some foreign dish would do the trick. He wasn't very familiar with Earth cuisine, but he had traveled to many planets and cultures. In comparison, Earth food would be simple to prepare.

* * *

><p>Layla had finished the final paper, satisfied because none of her students had gotten under a "C" grade this time. She stood up, wincing when she got a painful message from her foot, informing her that it had fallen asleep. She hated when that happened to her. She was still tired, though. Leaning on a table in her sleep had not made for a comfy night.<p>

She yawned, which was probably a sign from above that she should go back to bed. Even if it wasn't a sign, it was good enough for her.

A loud crash came from the kitchen area. Layla hesitated, and then decided she didn't want her house to burn down. Her plans to sleep for the next few days would have to wait.

She slowly poked her head in the kitchen, expecting to see a classic cooking screw-up. Flour clouding the room. Sauce stains on the floor, morbidly like blood. Maybe a small fire in the stove.

She hadn't expected Thanos to be sitting on her largest chair near the table, digging into a plate of pancakes. The pancakes were a bit overcooked, and their shape was more towards the square side than a circle, but it wasn't nearly as horrific as she had imagined. His helmet was on the table next to his plate.

Thanos looked towards her, began to say something, seemingly thought better of it, swallowed, and then tried again.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I won't need you to cook for me. It appears I will do fine in that regard," and the jerk was smiling deviously at her, as if he had done something really impressive. She wouldn't say so out loud, but next to turning her basement into a laboratory, making semi-good pancakes was low on the impressive scale.

"I, uh, heard a noise, so I came to check it out. I thought…" she didn't finish, not wanting to offend him. After all, she had assumed the worst of him, again. Thanos kept his focus on her.

"You thought I had blown up the kitchen in my quest to make myself breakfast. Honestly, I should be offended." His light tone made her relax slightly. If he killed her, it wouldn't be because he was upset at her assumption. Good to know.

"Should I assume you only make enough for one?" Layla asked him. She was too tired to make breakfast right now.

"I only made these pancakes for me. However, while I can eat much larger portions than you can, it isn't a necessity for me. I will give you half my serving, if you agree to leave me alone to my work for the rest of the day." Layla quickly agreed, quickly serving herself a cup of milk to go along with the sweet food. Upon further consideration, she served a second cup for her purple chef.

Their breakfast was mostly done in silence, punctuated by the clattering of silverware against plates, and the occasional gulp of milk. It was calm enough to almost make her forget that Thanos could basically kill her at any time. When they were done, Layla automatically grabbed both plates, taking them to the sink to wash them.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask me to wash them," Thanos said in an amused voice, his head resting lazily on one hand. Layla glanced at him before putting her attention back on the dishes. Syrup stains took a bit of scrubbing to get rid of.

"Would you have done them if I asked you to?" Thanos tilted his head, as if to think.

"No." She sighed. There was her answer.

Finishing with the final plate, the silence was starting to weigh down on her again. The birds chirping outside weren't good enough.

"Tell me why you like her. Lady Death, I mean," she quickly added the last part, in case Thanos had some second love somewhere. She was honestly curious. Was it possible to love such a horrid being? Thanos let out a humming sound.

"She was the first person to accept me, as a child. When my parents and schoolmates abandoned me, she was still there. I pledged from then on I would devote my life to her. To please Death, I must kill for her. Most people don't understand, but it matters not to me. As long as she is happy, I am content." Layla didn't dare voice her opinion, but she thought that sounded crazy.

"So, you're willing to go so far for her. What has she done for you in return? She isn't here right now, is she? If she loved you, wouldn't she be with you?" Thanos stood up, the chair falling backwards. Layla flinched, hoping she hadn't gone too far.

* * *

><p>"You imply that I devote myself to her for nothing. Do not speak of things that you know nothing about!" Thanos roared. He had heard enough from her. He would do anything for his lady; he did not need to receive any gratification. His devotion was pure, not fickle in the least.<p>

"Does she love you back? If she does, you can ignore everything I'm saying. But can you answer that with any certainty?" Layla's voice was quiet, but steady. Thanos froze. His lady adored him…right?

It was true that Lady Death tended to ignore him, even going so far as to have her minions speak in her stead. She had never been intimate with Thanos, but he had always assumed that physical interaction wouldn't be possible for her. At least, that is what he had hoped. It appeared he possibly had things to consider.

"I will be in my lab. Do not disturb me, or I will kill you," Thanos said, dangerously quiet. Stomping past Layla, he trudged to the basement, hoping that he could make progression on his ship. Hours later, he stopped trying, knowing it was in vain. Layla's words dwelled in his mind, and he was almost ashamed for wondering if there was some truth to be found there.

A good night's rest would help to clear his mind. Decided on a course of action, Thanos headed back to his room. Tonight, he planned to meet with Death in his dreams.

He had things to discuss with her, and this time, he would demand answers.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Sorry for all the POV switches in this chapter. I tried finding a smoother way, but...

For those who don't read the comics, Thanos sometimes "speaks" to Death in his dreams, kind of an astral projection type thing. Yeah, it's weird.


	6. A Discussion With Death

At first, he was a bit disoriented. There wasn't much sense of direction or gravity. It took Thanos a few moments to gather his bearings, but once he realized where he was, his mood lifted considerably. He had been to this dark void many times before, in order to converse with his love, Lady Death.

However, despite the fact that he was only occasionally able to traverse to this dimension after falling asleep, it was no mere dream. Death used his subconscious mind to meet on an astral plane, one that no telepath could reach alone.

Searching for his lady was no easy task; this place had no visible features beyond the dark corners. There was no up or down in this realm and Thanos may well have been standing upside down for all the difference it would make.

But he soon spied her, close enough that he could grab her if he was so inclined. He could not fathom how he had not seen her immediately.

"My lady," Thanos murmured, getting down on one knee. His lady deserved his respect. Death gazed at him, her body completely covered by a black cape and hood, only her slender face visible. Her ruby lips and black-orbed eyes gave her a predatory look. Thanos was always satisfied when those dark eyes had him in their sights.

Death didn't give him a reply, vocally or mentally. She stood still, if standing could be possible in such a non-corporeal place as this. Growing slightly impatient for a response, Thanos stood up, deciding to take initiative.

"My lady, I have been awaiting a visit from you for some time. I have missed you in my last few dreams," and his bass voice seemed to echo through the empty space. Death stared at him, her face showing no emotion. Her mind was also well-guarded. Thanos grit his teeth. This played-out scene was all too familiar to him.

"Please, my lady. Give me the honor of conversing with me. I have waited a very long time to hear your voice. If you continue to ignore me, I may begin to think you do not care for me," and he tried to make the last park come out jokingly (he had never tried to joke with Death before), but his voice was strained.

Of course, he had never liked being the object of Death's cold shoulder. But now he remembered what Layla had said. He hated feeling like a fool, and he was feeling like one now.

Death looked away, her eyes seeing something that even Thanos probably couldn't imagine. Thanos clenched his fists, his patience draining. Frustration and resentment flowed through him.

"I have done everything for you. I have never ignored you when you gave me an order. I love you; you must know this. Then why do you ignore me? **WHY**!?" Thanos no longer cared if he sounded like a petulant child. He demanded an answer, and by the gods, he would receive one!

Death turned her eyes towards him. She didn't seem impressed by his rage. Pulling down her hood, her black hair was let free, flying around her face as if she had her own personal gust of wind.

"Thanos, I do not ignore you as you seem to think. I only mean to discourage you. I'm afraid your obsession with me isn't as flattering as you may think." Her voice was deeper that the average female, but Thanos found it to his liking. The words being spoken, however, were not.

"What? I do not understand. Discourage me? My dear, if I come across as overbearing, you need only say the word, and I will do my utmost to change! What I do for you, I do out of love." Lady Death sighed, sitting down on the non-existent ground. Thanos chose to stay upright.

"Do you confuse love with something else? Thanos, when I met you as a child, I admired your penchant for death. I was flattered when you claimed I was your god. But it has gone too far; you follow me around the galaxy, killing everyone in your path. It was fun, at first; but you cause more death than even **I** can handle."

"My lady, I still don't see what the problem is," and Thanos once again felt foolish. Lady Death walked towards him, causing his heart to pound. She put a bony, skeletal hand on the side of his face.

"I do not love you. I never did, Mad Titan. And I wish of you to stop following me like a lovesick child." With those final cruel words uttered, she began to ascend, towards a sky that was slowly brightening, as if a hidden sun had emerged. Death's face had also changed, from the beautiful vixen, to a skeleton. Thanos found both equally beautiful, but at the moment, that wasn't what he was focusing on.

"Please, do not leave me," Thanos murmured, as if raising his voice might destroy the now fragile dimension. He attempted to follow Death, but he found his way blocked; as the light surrounded the area, filling it with warmness, the ground and surrounding area began to melt, and Thanos found himself falling through the cracks.

Thanos shot up in his bed, gasping. He was clenching his bedsheet so hard, he had torn it almost straight down the middle. Taking a moment to steady himself, he mentally noticed someone else in the vicinity. Raising his head, he saw Layla, who was standing warily at the entrance to the guest room. Her brown hair was flattened on one side, and her eyes looked barely awake.

"Are you all right?" she ventured tiredly. "I heard you calling out in your sleep, and I-" Thanos cut her off with a growl.

"Please leave. I am not in the mood for discussion right now." Thankfully, Layla left as speedily as she had entered, leaving Thanos to his thoughts. He didn't want to believe it, but reality was setting in. He had just been….dumped by Death. It was a completely absurd notion, and yet it had happened.

Thanos began to shake, but couldn't stop the laughter from escaping his mouth. How insane! All these many years of chasing after Death really had been a colossal waste of his time! Layla had been correct! Almost his whole life was now meaningless!

Thanos lay back down, letting out the occasional bitter laugh, but slowly sobering as it hit him. Did he even have a reason to live now? Nearly every single thing he had done in his life was for Death. What was his purpose now? He had no plans to commit suicide, though; that would only further his humiliation.

* * *

><p>Layla had gone back to her room, very tempted to get back in the inviting warmth of her bed. She had woken up to groans and cries from the guest room. Not the kind of person who could let anyone suffer, even a jerk like Thanos, she had hurried to his room, not even sure what to expect. He had been having a nightmare, apparently.<p>

Since he obviously didn't want company, she had gone back to her room. She turned to the old-style clock on her wall. She felt like groaning herself. It wasn't even five in the morning? She didn't even need to head for her school, Crosswoods Academy, for a few more hours.

"I guess I could try to get in some extra sleep, but I'm way too awake now. Guess I'll make breakfast," she muttered to herself. Still in her nightgown, she trudged to the kitchen. A cup of coffee to start the day sounded blissful. Through the curtains of the kitchen window, the first birds began to chirp, and the sky began to turn pink.

_The sky must have a crush on the sun. It always blushed when it's time for the sun to rise._

Layla giggled at the cheesy joke her mother used to tell her. She used to believe it, too! She must have been very gullible in her youth.

Heating the milk took time, and waiting was boring. Leaning against the stove, she looked out the window at a pair of yellow chicks in a nest, no doubt chirping for their mommy.

She yawned, the reason being a cross between boredom and a general sense of fatigue. That coffee couldn't be ready too soon. Heavy footsteps coming down the stairs let her know that she might need to prepare a second cup.

Thanos walked in silently, footsteps aside. Layla smoothed her hair, suddenly feeling self-conscious. She wasn't at her most presentable at the moment. Her hair was probably all messy. Ugh.

Thanos sat at the same chair from the previous morning. Pouring the now ready coffee into two mugs, Layla sat across from him again. Eyeing the coffee, Thanos carefully took the steaming mug from Layla's hand. She watched him, wide-eyes, as he absently gulped the scalding drink down.

"How can you do that? I'm wincing just looking at you," Layla admitted. Thanos set the mug down on the table.

"My interior is no more vulnerable than my exterior. There was never any fear of harm." Well, good for him. She took a sip of her own mug, and then lightly blew on it, not wanting to risk a burned tongue because of some dumb competition.

"I think I actually left it on the heater for too long. I don't think there is an exact science to coffee making, though," she said lightly, getting up so that she could use a spoon to stir the brown liquid.

"Recalling what you told me yesterday, I think you'll be gratified to hear that I don't believe I'll be seeing Death anymore." Layla had taken another sip from her cup, and almost spit it out at the off-topic comment. Thanos obviously wasn't joking, though. He looked mildly upset.

"I'm sorry," because that's all Layla could think to say. She didn't want him to think she was happy that he was down. Thanos looked out the window, and Layla tried to follow what he found so interesting.

"Oh, those birds. They've been calling for their mom for a bit now. I wonder where she went," Layla said, not really concerned. The mom would fly back when she was ready. Turning back to Thanos, she decided to try to be friendly. The guy was clearly not in a great mood, and she didn't want it to worsen.

"Hey, coffee is great, but nothing beats a solid breakfast," she said, taking both mugs to the sink. "What would you like?" Thanos raised his head.

"I found the pancakes to be delectable. The eggs made for a fine accompaniment. I will leave the cooking to you this time." Layla laughed; he had practically admitted her pancakes were better! That counted as a victory in her book!

"Pancakes and eggs it is!" she called back at him. "They should be ready in about fifteen minutes!" As she poured the batter into the pan, and turned up the heat, a pleasant smell permeated through the room.

"What should I do now?" Thanos asked, breaking the comfortable silence. Layla wasn't sure how to answer; heck, she wasn't even sure that the question was aimed at her. When she looked back at him, however, he was staring at her expectantly.

"Why ask me? I'm not nearly as smart as you, even as a teacher." She wasn't sure that she could give Thanos any helpful insight.

"You seem to be at peace with your life, and satisfied in the direction its going. You must know a way for me to find my purpose." The poor guy sounded lost. She wondered what would happen if she found out she couldn't teach anymore. It wouldn't be a good feeling at all, but that still wouldn't be as bad as what he was feeling.

She had to reply carefully. Being blunt, and saying something like, "Well, first off, you should let me go, and we'll talk from there," might not work. She had to use tact.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Layla hoped that answering his question with a question of her own wouldn't annoy him. If Thanos was offended, he didn't let it show.

"All my actions were done to please Death, and with the goal of ending up with her. It seems it was all in vain. I don't have a current goal in mind. I don't even have a place to go," Thanos said. It was so matter-of-fact, he didn't even sound sad. He sounded resigned. Maybe that was what made Layla speak up.

"You can stay here for a while. You already have a room anyway, and I could use the company." Thanos looked at her, surprised, as she flipped the pancakes on two blue plates.

_What am I saying? I don't want him to stay!_

_But I do. I've been lonely, living all alone. At least I could have some company, someone to talk to._

"Being alone isn't fun. I guess you know that feeling. This could be good for both of us," Layla continued, placing one of the plates in front of her purple guest.

When Layla thought about it, she was surprised to realize that the idea wasn't very daunting at all. She welcomed it, even. As she waited for his reply, Layla found herself holding her breath.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Comments:<strong>

Does that count as a cliffhanger? It seemed an OK place to stop.

Even though I think Thanos is a cool villain, I actually really don't like Marvel's Death in the comics. I find her boring. With that said, I tried to remain as unbiased as possible when writing her scene. I mean, being stalked by Thanos would put anyone off!


	7. Monday

Thanos stared as Layla began to cut her pancake into smaller, more edible pieces. She must be more foolish than he presumed, to offer a monster like him residence.

"Why would you offer to let me stay here, even for a short amount of time? You obviously can't trust me," he said, almost reprimanding. She paused, a pancake slice stabbed on a fork.

"I meant it. Look, we could both use the company, and I won't even make you pay rent. That sounds like a swell deal, I'd say," she replied cheerfully, eating the first piece of pancake.

"You are naïve, Layla. You know I am a murderer. What if I was dishonest regarding Death? I could murder you in your sleep." Layla took a gulp of milk.

"But if you killed me, you'd be alone again, right?" Layla looked so sure of herself that Thanos wanted to shake her. Instead, at the moment, he looked down at his own plate.

"I have a difficult time comprehending your thoughts. The fact that you know who I am means that you should be running in fear, not consuming food casually in front of me," his quiet voice slowly rose in volume.

"It seems to me you're just scared to get close to someone, maybe. Some of my children have that problem too," Layla said, obviously referring to her charges at school. Thanos angrily slammed a hand against the table, almost causing both glasses of milk to tip over and spill.

"Don't make light if this! I fear nothing, but more importantly, you should fear me! It would be all too easy for me to kill you!" His chest heaved, his breathing harsh with anger. Layla stood up, and leaned towards him, her face close to his.

"Do you want to kill me?" She asked it so straight-forward. Thanos stared back at her, noticing her eyes, which were like hazelnuts, and her brown hair, some of which almost covered her eyes. He almost felt an urge to shift the hair out of the way.

Thanos leaned back against his chair, and shoved a large pancake in his mouth, swallowing whole. Taking a deep breath, he looked back at Layla, who had sat back down to finish her meal.

"You are far too kind for your own good," Thanos muttered. "But I will take you up on your offer, until I find better arrangements." He was almost loathe to say it, but she had fair reasoning. And if she was offering feely, who was he to refuse?

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Layla exclaimed, looking at her watch. She quickly finished the rest of her food, and rushed her dishes to the sink. Thanos turned to her questioningly.

"Oh, today is Monday. The kids will be expecting me," she answered in a hurry, straightening her hair in front of a mirror in the living room. She had gotten dressed fast! Females were efficient, apparently.

Thanos grinned, and crossed his arms. He could have some amusement with this. He coughed, loudly. Layla looked up from where she was tying her shoe-laces.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Thanos asked, tapping his boot on the ground. Layla looked confused, but he noticed the moment it dawned on her.

"Wait, you're talking about that stupid rule about how I can't leave the house? That's still valid? Thanos, I really have to go! It's way too last-second to get a replacement!" Thanos was content to sit at the table, and watch as a bunch of thoughts and emotions crossed her face. She almost looked ready to attempt to make a run for it. Finally, he decided to show mercy.

"I jest. It no longer matters to me if you venture out; I have no plans to foil, after all." He saw the relief in her eyes, and maybe even silent thanks. He turned away, uncomfortable with the naked emotion in her eyes. He wasn't someone who deserved to receive a look like that. She promised him that she'd back by early evening, and that he better not break anything, and to make lunch. He listened in the back of his mind, but he was already focused on the time he'd have to make modifications to his ship.

* * *

><p>As Layla exited the house, she zipped up her jacket, shivering a bit at the brisk weather. Still, she would take the autumn cold over the upcoming bitter December winds. She could do without that, for sure. Blowing on her hands, she got a good pace going. She'd be at the school in only half an hour.<p>

She passed by a couple of strange folk on the way. They were muttering to each other, but one of them saw her coming, and gave a warm greeting.

"Hello, ma'am," the first man said. She could immediately tell he was rich; the coat he was wearing was from a really exclusive label, and his cologne smelled exotic. The three other men with him all waved at her. Two of them were blond, one noticeably large then the other. The final man had sunglasses on, despite the fact that it wasn't all that's sunny.

The shorter blond man stepped forward. His voice had authority when he spoke.

"I'm sorry to use up your time, ma'am, but if I may, I'd like to ask you some questions." _Yup, definitely a policeman_, Layla thought. _Has something happened?_

"Well, I'm in a hurry, but I'll be back around six." The man looked a bit disappointed.

"No, that's ok. We'll be gone by then. Thanks for your time, anyway," the man said cordially, turning to join his buddies, who were already walking away.

At the school, Layla hung up her coat on the wooden rack, and sat down at the desk. She had made it, with a few minutes to spare. Thank goodness she hadn't forgotten the papers she had graded. Dashing back to the house now would take far too long.

As she arranged the stack of papers on her desk, a head popped through the doorway. Layla mentally sighed; it was Mr. Haynes. He was the principal at Crosswoods Academy, and most of the teachers really liked him. Unfortunately, she had somehow managed to get on his bad side.

"Dunham, can I have a moment?" He then entered the classroom before she could answer, still talking. His neat, gelled brown hair screamed, "I'm trying too hard!" to her. He also didn't fit the stereotype that most people had about principals; he wasn't overweight or short, and he didn't wear any glasses, let alone square-shaped ones. He actually hit the gym a lot on the weekends.

"I tried calling you over the weekend. I called your house, and tried your cell phone. You never answered. What was up with that?" Layla flashed him a winning smile.

"It was a very busy weekend, Mr. Haynes. I'm sorry; I must have forgotten to call back." That was partially true, but honestly, she probably wouldn't have called back anyway. Talking with Mr. Haynes wasn't fun at the best of times.

Mr. Haynes squinted at her. She tried to keep the smile on her face, but she could tell it was faltering.

"Dunham, when I call a teacher, I expect them to pick up. Keep that in mind, if you want to keep your job." He wasn't bluffing at all. Layla suspected that if the kid's parents didn't like her, Haynes would have kicked her out of Crosswoods years ago.

"You never let that grudge go, did you?" Layla asked, wanting the conversation to end. Haynes moved his hand through his hair, exhaling in seeming exasperation.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Dunham," he said coldly, before turning to walk out the door, moments before the small patter of young feet could be heard echoing in the school halls.

As the kids filed in, one kid made a beeline for Layla's desk, and gave her an apple. It was almost a daily occurrence now, but it was a sweet gesture. Any fruit would be fine, as long as it wasn't cranberries; she was allergic to those.

"All right, students, line up to receive your papers. Like I promised, if the average was over a C, I wouldn't give out a surprise test." Many of the kids looked around nervously.

When Layla gave Kevin his paper back, she was relieved that he didn't complain about how crinkled it was after Thanos had handled it. But then, she wasn't sure if Kevin would have cared much about that anyway.

_Speaking of a certain somebody, I just remembered something I need to do after class_, Layla thought. It was something that she couldn't put off.

* * *

><p>Thanos had been working on his ship for the last few hours. He believed he was almost done. Truthfully, he would have been finished a long time ago, but he decided to add some small improvements. There was no need to rush, as far as he was concerned. And the more he immersed himself in his work, the less time he had to think about anything else.<p>

Perhaps that made him a coward. He found he didn't care. Sometimes the best way to avoid addressing something was a good distraction. Besides, even once the ship was repaired, there was still the matter of the Tesseract. He couldn't very well leave it inside her, knowing how many various people were searching for it.

_Am I actually concerned for her well-being? No, of course not; I may require the Tesseract's power for any future endeavor._

Glancing at the time (almost 6:30), Thanos decided to head back upstairs. No doubt Layla would be back soon.

Only a few minutes later, Layla did indeed arrive, announcing her presence with a loud hello, and a large shopping bag. When Thanos went to inspect, she practically shoved the bag in his arms.

"Sorry I'm a bit late, but I had to go shopping. I hope these fit." Her words made sense when Thanos removed the items, namely, clothing. Very large shirts, sweaters, and even a button-down pajama were all included.

"C'mon, try one on!" Layla said, probably eager to see that her shopping was not a waste of time and money. Thanos, almost flustered, grabbed a large, yellow sweater, and went to his room to put it on.

_If this doesn't fit, I'll have to borrow garbs from the Hulk_. The idea was horrifying. Thanos removed his armor, and stared at the sweater. Not one to ever hesitate, Thanos gripped the yellow item, and put it over his head, yanking it down.

A few moments later, Thanos exited his room. To his surprise, it fit. It was a bit close-fitting, but at least it didn't tear. Layla didn't look very surprised, but she tended to be more optimistic.

"It fits, right? It doesn't feel tight?" she asked. Thanos shook his head, preparing himself to say something out of his comfort zone.

"Thank you. I imagine this wasn't an easy thing to acquire, what with my size." She laughed, told him not to worry about it, and then gave him a hug. Thanos froze, his mind freezing along with his body. He had only ever been hugged a few times before, by a young green alien. It was a foreign feeling to him.

It turned out he didn't need to worry, Layla had let go a moment later, seemingly not noticing that he hadn't reciprocated the action.

"You know, you actually look pretty handsome with that sweater on," she teased jokingly. Thanos looked in the living room mirror. She wasn't necessarily lying; the sweater was snug, and his muscles and body shape were easy to see, even through the cotton. He swallowed, making his neck muscles jump.

"Don't worry, I don't expect you to get me anything in return," Layla was saying in the backdrop, her reflection in the mirror mouthing the words.

"That is just as well. I don't have any human money on me." He allowed himself a smile, and felt strangely satisfied when she laughed and smiled back.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Comments:<strong>

OK, another non-cliffhanger. I mean, for a fic that's part romance, that isn't a bad thing, right? *gulps*

With this chapter, I tried to show a bit of Layla's personal life. School, her students, introducing some mean principal, etc. Going to the clothing store was a small change of pace in her life, and being given a present would be new for Thanos. Also, I couldn't have him in his armor the whole fic, right?

For those who missed it, Marvel announced a bunch of new films coming up...including _Infinity Wars_! Its gonna be epic!


	8. Pizza and Aliens

That night, to celebrate the surprising fact that the yellow sweater actually fit Thanos, Layla ordered a pizza. After Thanos informed her that he had never eaten pizza, she made sure to order pepperoni as well, joking that he looked like the kind of guy who liked meat. She wasn't wrong, actually; vegetables and sweets had never done it for Thanos. Fortunately, with his Titan physiology, eating with health in mind wasn't a concern.

When the doorbell rang, Thanos was warned to hide in the kitchen. It wouldn't do to scare off the delivery man, after all. Thanos complied, only because after all the raving Layla did about this pizza, he was honestly intrigued.

Sitting down at the wooden table, Thanos on one end, Layla on the other, the pizza's odor had already spread across the room.

"If the taste of this pizza is as pleasing to the sense as the aroma, it seems you will not have been overstating how good it is," Thanos remarked. Layla grinned at him, and opened the cardboard box. She removed two slices, and pushed the box towards Thanos.

"You can have the rest. I love pepperoni, but I'll be honest: if I eat too much, it'll go straight to my hips," she said, looking at the box longingly. Not knowing the culture, Thanos watched as Layla grabbed the pizza by the outer crust, and copied her.

The flavor was certainly expressive. It was hard to put it into words, exactly, but it was a potent combination. The sauce was sweet, but not overly so, and the cheese was salty, grounding it. The bread was plain, but the sauce and cheese made that a moot point, and besides, it kept the toppings from spattering on the plate. The pepperoni was spicy, but presumably not enough to make it uncomfortable.

The lighting wasn't great, as the lamp above the table was dimming. Layla commented that it would need to be replaced soon.

"I'm afraid when you tried to inform me earlier, I wasn't paying very much attention. I recall you mentioned your occupation involved teaching kids, but could you specify?" Thanos asked, trying to make small talk. That's what people did during meals, he was pretty sure.

"Oh? Sure, but why are you suddenly interested?" Layla asked after swallowing a string of cheese.

"Hmm. If I'll be living here for the near future, its best that I get to know you better. It would make for a very uncomfortable living environment otherwise." Thanos realized that his explanation sounded very unconvincing, but fortunately, Layla seemed to enjoy discussing her job.

"So, yeah, I've been working at Crosswoods for a few years now. The current semester is just starting, so I haven't memorized all my student's names yet," Layla continued, almost 15 minutes later. She finally stopped to bite into a slice of pizza, than gagged.

"Was that slice too spicy?" Thanks asked, bewildered at her sudden dislike of the pizza. Layla shook her head.

"No, it just got cold," she said, shrugging. Thanos decided it was best not to comment on that matter further, and got things back on track.

"Obviously, you have enthusiasm for your work as a teacher. I wouldn't have the patience for it myself." Thanos also didn't like children, but he felt adding that was unnecessary. Layla looked at him ruefully.

"I can tell, after the way you completely made fun of Kevin's paper," she admonished, arms crossed.

"I still don't believe it was well-written, but perhaps I was hasty to judge solely on that paper." There was no harm in giving an inch, Thanos decided. Layla visibly relaxed.

"Your family, tell me about them. You mentioned your parents before," Thanos prompted.

"My parents are really nice. They don't live too far from here, only a two-hour drive on car, so I can visit them occasionally when I have free time. They have a farm, so I guess some people would call them old-fashioned."

"I wasn't aware you owned a vehicle." Thanos knew that Layla's house didn't have a garage, and he hadn't seen any parked near the house.

"Oh, I guess I never mentioned it. I usually leave it at the school's parking lot. I always walk to the school, and the supermarket is a few blocks after that, so I almost never even need to use it! Hey, maybe I'll let you drive it." When Thanos didn't make a response, Layla paused.

"You can drive right? Do they have cars in space?" Thanos laughed.

"Yes, they do, but the majority of space vehicles don't use wheels. I think an Earth vehicle would be simple enough," Thanos replied, amused. It would probably take him minutes to learn, the control scheme seemed simplistic.

"My parents didn't want me to be a teacher, originally. They heard all the horror stories, I guess, and how it can be a stressful job. But I like kids, so I applied, and I passed. It was pretty close, though," Layla continued, her eyes distant in the sea of memories.

"You parents seem like much nicer people than mine," Thanos remarked, finishing the last slice of his own pizza, and leaning back, feeling content, more so than he had in a long period of time. When he looked at Layla, see was staring at him with pity in her eyes. Thanos felt a dull, almost habitual anger welling inside of him.

"I don't want or need your pity, human. It disgusts me," Thanos growled, wanting her to look away. Layla but her lower lip, and took her plate to the sink. Coming back to get his, she wouldn't make eye contact. As she reached for his plate, Thanos grabbed her wrist. Layla, gasped, but Thanos didn't make a move.

"That was petty of me. I apologize, my anger issues aren't always in check. I will wash my own dish," Thanos said gruffly, and before she could object, he moved past her. He had managed to wreck the mood with his temper.

_The title Mad Titan is well deserved, I see._

Thanos sighed. No wonder he was always alone. Absently, he began scrubbing with more force than necessary. A slight piercing noise alerted him to the fact that he had snapped the dainty plate in two. Thanos growled with frustration. Could he do nothing right?

Layla stepped forward and put her hand on his arm. "So, I never got to ask you about your, um, telepathy. You mentioned it, and even used it, but I had more pressing thoughts at the time. Can all Titans use that ability?" Her tone was light, and Thanos realized that she was trying to distract him from his current issues. He gratefully took the bait.

"No, I am among the few with that particular skill. It is far more useful to me than almost any weapon." Layla looked a bit wistful.

"I wish I had a cool ability like that. It would be helpful in the classroom, if I suspected a student was cheating." That sounded like a mundane use for telepathy, but Thanos figured that for someone Earth-bound like Layla, there weren't many other uses.

Layla, who had started to wash the dishes herself, looked at Thanos expectantly. "Just don't use that ability to make me act weird or something, OK?" Thanos huffed, not sure why she would request that. He hadn't tampered with her mind at all.

"Why would I force you to act in an unbecoming manner? I already barely understand you humans," Thanos grumbled. Layla laughed, and the sound, for some odd reason, didn't bother the Titan at all.

* * *

><p>Pepper almost couldn't contain her laughter when she saw a very tired bunch of grown men wearing ridiculous clothing enter the lobby of Avengers Tower.<p>

"I take it things still haven't gone well," she managed, hiding the lower part of her face behind a clipboard. Hawkeye groaned, heading for the restroom. Tony, Steve, and Thor headed for the elevator, and Pepper followed, handing all three water bottles.

"Thank you," Steve said gratefully, Thor following his lead. Tony took a sip, before handing the bottle back to Pepper.

"It's frustrating. Fury has basically told us to find a needle in a haystack. We must have combed through over a hundred miles, and we have nothing to show for it." Pepper had only seen Tony look so defeated a few times.

"This ship crashed a few days ago, right? If this alien is hostile, it'll probably make its move soon. No pressure," Pepper teased Tony.

"Ooh, the lady has some barbs. I like it!" Thor said, boisterously. You almost wouldn't know from his tone that aliens could invade any day now. Thor wasn't one to worry about things like that, though.

"Anyway, I'm going to give Fury a piece of my mind," Tony said grimly. Pepper had a feeling she had better stay clear of the meeting room for a bit.

"I'd better come too." Steve exhaled after finishing his water. "I may have to step in if you guys start having a yelling match." Tony shrugged, and the two exited the elevator. Thor and Pepper stayed inside.

"It must take a lot of strength on your part to deal with Stark 24/7," Thor remarked. The elevator began to move higher, the elevator music playing something from Chopin. Pepper smiled at him.

"Yeah, you have no idea. It's a very demanding job. But…I wouldn't trade it for anything." It wasn't the most flattering job at times, but she was also very grateful to it. Without it, she never would have met Tony.

* * *

><p>Takhan pinched the bridge above his nose. One of his lieutenants was listing all the problems found within their current flagship. These included one faulty cannon, a thruster that was slow to start, some rebellious crewmates, and other things that were too minor to give any serious thought.<p>

"Enough," Takhan said, knowing his strong voice would carry through the hull of the ship, where the only other noise to be heard was the humming of the engines. The lieutenant shut his mouth, not wanting to be reprimanded, or worse, disciplined.

"Go on about your business," Takhan waved the lieutenant away, eager to be left alone to dwell on his thoughts. If he wasn't the new head of the Kree, Takhan would have been tempted to get up and leave, not looking back. But after the death (_murder_) of Ronan the Accuser, Takhan had been chosen, thanks to his grades at the royal academy.

Takhan's hands gripped the hand-rests harder as he remembered some of the events that had occurred. The Kree had been in an alliance with a Titan named Thanos, who had promised them many things. It turned out those were sweet nothings; Ronan had been killed, and Thanos did nothing to aid their Kree leader!

The bastard had then deemed the Kree worthless, and had moved on to the Kree's mortal enemies – The Skrull! The Kree, of course, had not taken this lying down, and they had sent a fleet to destroy Thanos and the Skrull.

Their fleet had been wiped out, along with Ronan's replacement. Afterwards, the Kree went into hiding for a few years, licking their wounds. Takhan had been chosen during that time to lead his people into battle. After years of building their strength, the time was now. Word had spread among the stars that Thanos had engaged the Nova Corps in battle, and had lost.

Takhan grinned, running his hand over his face, a habit he had nurtured as a child. He knew that if he looked in a mirror, he would see his fingers tracing over the black lines that were customary for Kree leaders.

Thanos was most likely injured. This would make the Titan easy pickings; Takhan wanted nothing more than to squeeze the life from his purple throat. Takhan briefly wondered what would happen if a purple-skinned freak lacked oxygen.

_What color will your skin be then, Titan? I look forward to finding out for myself._ Takhan licked his lips. Another lieutenant walked towards the captain, but hesitated. Takhan glared at the meek member of his crew.

"Sir, we are approaching the area where the Titan's ship was reportedly shot down." Takhan let himself feel a bit of pleasure. He would avenge his people, and murder a madman. It would be oh-so productive.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

So, yeah. An actual plot is forming! Kree and aliens and stuff! Hopefully the slow build is worth it.

And...pizza. I love pizza, BTW. Even an evil alien has to admit that its good stuff. ;)

Also, for the next chapter, I'm trying something different. Arguably, something risky. I hope it turns out well.


	9. Takhan

**OK, so this chapter is literally all a flashback. Thus, I won't be using italics. The reason being, I need to give my original villain some backstory! I wasn't completely satisfied with this chapter, but I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Thanos stared down at Ronan, who was doing his best to look intimidating. The Kree warlord had just killed The Other, which Thanos supposed was meant to be an act of aggression. His daughter Nebula looked on, amused with the situation.<p>

Thanos was not pleased. Instead of going after the Infinity Gem himself, he had sent Gamora, who had ended up being arrested. Thanos was mildly attached to Gamora, so this was upsetting. The silence was probably starting to get on Ronan's nerves, which was perfect; let the fool wallow in his fear.

Ronan tried to offer up some excuse for his miserable failure, but Thanos refused to acknowledge it. He calmly informed Ronan that he expected the Kree to deliver him the Infinity Gem, or his "Blood would be spread across the stars". He also ordered Nebula to keep an eye on the Kree; Ronan wasn't very dependable on his own, which had already been established.

Scowling, Ronan left, Nebula trotting behind him. Thanos grinned at their retreating backs. In the long run, it wouldn't matter if Ronan failed or not; Thanos would probably still kill him.

* * *

><p>The buzzer rang, signaling the end of the class for the day. Takhan exhaled in relief as he packed up his holographic discs, stuffing them in his school-bag. The political classes were all well and good, but they could start to drag as the day went on. He just wanted to go home to his mother, and have her delicious food.<p>

As he walked down the hallway that led to the transportation units, he spied a few of his classmates crowding around a large three-dimensional holographic unit. Curious, he edged closer, wanting to see what the fuss was about. A pretty young news reporter was on the projection, yellow lipstick standing out surrounded by her blue skin.

"The Skrull forces were pushed back today by the Kree militia, after a ten-hour standstill. However, the retreat was punctuated by the destruction of many of the Skrull fleets." As the lady went on, many of the classmates began cheering, some of them throwing their hats in the air. Takhan grinned, thinking of how cool the army was! He planned to join them once he became of age, which was why he toiled away in the political course.

"We give our thanks to Lord Thanos, who's funding and power made this victory possible," the lady on the projector continued, beaming like the sun. Takhan's grin faded a bit. One of his boisterous classmates elbowed him.

"Takhan, why are you looking so downcast? We beat the Skrulls again!" The young Kree was practically bouncing on his feet, quickly stopping when a teacher walked past. Takhan shrugged his broad shoulders.

"No, don't get me wrong. I'm glad we won, but... this Thanos guy is someone I don't like." The classmate gave him a weird look. Takhan sharply realized that he didn't even know this Kree's name.

"But why not? He looks creepy, but ever since he arrived all those years ago, we've prospered, have we not?" Thanos had arrived years ago, before Takhan was even born, and had taken over the Kree Empire, even if some people didn't want to admit it. At least, that was how Takhan felt.

"I get a bad vibe from him, I guess," Takhan muttered, knowing that was a weird reason to hate someone; it wasn't logical at all. The nameless Kree laughed.

"You do realize that if you graduate, and join the army, you'll probably have to take orders from Thanos eventually, right?" Takhan knew he was right, but that didn't meant the experience would have to be enjoyable!

The course that Takhan was taking was so that he could join the Kree's army after he graduated in a few years. However, if one's grades weren't high enough, they would have to take on other, less important jobs. In Takhan's opinion, any man who couldn't make the army was a failure.

Another requirement was that one needed to be physically fit. Luckily, Takhan came from a strong family; even though he hated his father for abandoning his own wife, Takhan had to admit that he was grateful for the genes. His body was already very muscular, considering he was still in the forming years. Females were already propositioning him.

* * *

><p>Arriving home after taking one of the transportation units (which didn't cost that much, thankfully), Takhan took off his boots, as was the custom.<p>

"Takhan, is that you?" his mother's hoarse voice called from a room upstairs.

"Yeah, mom. Sorry I'm a bit late, but I was talking with a…friend," Takhan called back, rummaging in the cooling unit for a quick snack. Unfortunately, the fridge was mostly empty, as usual. They weren't the wealthiest family around. Takhan once again thanked whichever god was listening that his political class was free. The Kree encouraged people to join the army, so it made sense.

Takhan's mother came down the stairs, holding a bundle of Takhan's clothing, no doubt taking it to the laundry.

"Mom, I can wash my own clothing!" Takhan exclaimed, embarrassed. She patted his head, something she knew flustered him.

"I enjoy doing it, honest. And you always take so long, honey," she badgered good naturedly, before heading to the washing machines in the basement. Takhan was glad to have her around, because he didn't think he'd be able to take care of the house as much as she did. He spent most of his free time studying, anyway.

He briefly heard a cough resound from the basement. Takhan's mother had been feeling ill lately, but had refused to go to the doctor, insisting that it was a minor bug. Takhan hoped so; he hated to see any harm befall a fellow Kree, let alone his mom.

* * *

><p>Thanos was mentally considering the best way to kill Ronan. The treacherous scum was on the holographic projector, making his intention to turn on Thanos clear. The screen turned dark, giving Thanos ample time to imagine blasting Ronan to smithereens. Let Ronan come; Thanos would enjoy killing the accuser himself.<p>

Unfortunately, that wouldn't be possible. A brief time-period later, Thanos was informed by his sources that Ronan had been killed against a ragtag team of galactic heroes. Thanos had a good laugh! Ronan was such a weakling that he had been vanquished by a team of misfits!

Shortly after, he had gotten a call from yet another Kree, presumably the next in command.

"Thanos, we have been informed that Ronan the Accuser has been killed in action. I, Thoruth, was his understudy. I will now be the one to communicate with you." He seemed so eager to please.

"Unfortunately, I will not be requiring your services any longer," Thanos said, resting back on his throne casually. The Kree sputtered, not expecting a rebuttal.

"But sir, our alliance-"

"Has been severed, as of now. I'm afraid that you Kree have performed under even my expectations. I will need to find a more dependable source of aid," and then he shut down the communication channel, not wanting to hear any more sniveling.

Still, having allies would be helpful. The tricky part was finding someone who was actually helpful. Still, Thanos certainly had time to contemplate. A few moments later, the Mad Titan grinned. It was a good thing he was alone, as anyone present may have dashed off in fear.

Thanos had thought of a group that was perfect: the Skrulls. Not only would their shape-shifting abilities be useful in espionage, they and the Kree hated each other with a passion. Leaving the Kree for the Skrulls – it would be like rubbing salt in a wound. Thanos laughed, echoing in the empty space around him.

Grabbing his holographic unit, Thanos sent a message signal to the Skrull homeworld. A few moments later, and one of the green aliens appeared on the projector, looking bored.

"You have reached the Skrull Empire, how may we-"the Skrull cut off with a rather ugly gasping noise. Obviously, he recognized Thanos. That was good; it would have been insulting if he hadn't.

"Skip the formalities. I wish to speak with your leader, immediately." Thanos wasn't here to waste time. The idiot Skrull fumbled with something just off-screen for a moment, before giving a rushed and panicked, "Right away!"

Just as Thanos was beginning to tire of waiting, the screen emitted static, before clearing up to show a much larger Skrull than the previous one. Unlike the previous one, he wasn't shaking, which caused Thanos to smirk. This was someone he could work with.

"Speak your business, Thanos. We don't deal kindly with people who ally themselves with the Kree," the being called Kl'rt growled. Most people knew him better as Super-Skrull, and for good reason; if Ronan was the strongest of the Kree, Super-Skrull was his equivalent, a warrior among green weaklings. One day, Thanos planned to test Super-Skrull's famed might, but today was not that day.

"I'm afraid your info is outdated. I am no longer allied with the Kree; they have betrayed me in a most horrific way. I should have never trusted those snakes. Indeed, the ones I should have gone to in the first place were you, the honorable Skrulls." Thanos did his best to make his voice sound even slightly pathetic. Super-Skrull's face looked slightly sympathetic.

"Yes, the Kree's wretchedness is well known to us. But why should we partner with you? Your power is also well known on our homeworld." Thanos knew that the best way to get someone to do what you want was to offer something they couldn't refuse.

"If you agree to work with me, I will help you eradicate the Kree Empire. Furthermore, I would help you conquer the Nova Corps, and I would hand over the Tesseract." Of course, he only planned to keep the first two promises; giving away the Tesseract would be foolish.

"I will consult with our elders. I will inform you of our decision afterwards," and with that, the screen went dark, signaling the end of the conversation. Thanos sat back down, not worried in the least. The Skrull would say yes, of that there was no question.

* * *

><p>Takhan had been home studying when the news broke. The newscaster on the holovid suddenly seemed anxious, so Takhan raised the volume, so that he could listen while he studied.<p>

"This just in…not completely verified yet, but it seems the Kree fleet has been shot upon and is under attack. I will report the news as it comes in!" She sounded scared, and the emotion was hard to avoid. Takhan felt himself grow cold. Was this an act of terrorism? Was it the Skrulls? But they had been sent running back home not too long ago!

Takhan's mother walked in the room, her hands still wet from doing handling the laundry.

"I heard from downstairs. This is terrible. I hope everyone is OK," she wringed her hands in distress. Takhan's mother worked as a nurse part-time, and she had seen enough results of violence in her lifetime to have grown sick of it.

"Don't worry, mom. It could be a false alarm. It's happened before." He had to stay brave for his mother. He moved to flick off the holographic image, but the screen flashed with an update signal.

"It is the Skrulls attacking the fleet. We have a visual, sending to the screens!"

The projector played an image, showing the Kree's fleet battling against the Skrull's fleet. The Kree ships could be identified by their Grey coloring; the Skrull ships were covered in black. Both sides were firing missiles at each other, but for some reason, none of the Kree missiles seemed to be hitting the Skrull ships.

The black sky lit up, as many of the Kree ships exploded. Takhan's mother turned away, not wanting to see the carnage. Takhan couldn't blame her; debris and bodies could be seen floating around, almost as if they were swimming in water.

The news reporter, frantic, was alternately trying to report the news, and letting out exclamations of disbelief. The camera also didn't seem to know where to look; it zoomed in and out at different angles, trying to capture the action and destruction all at once.

On the screen, Takhan noticed a small smudge on top of the lead Skrull ship. Before he could point it out to his mother, the news reporter saved him some time.

"Viewers, it appears someone has climbed on top of the Skrull flagship. We are attempting to zoom in on it now!" A few moments later, as the camera presumably used all of its magnifying power, the dot on the ship became clear. Takhan inhaled sharply.

The person on the ship was Thanos, who had recently broken his alliance with the Kree. What was the Titan doing with the Skrulls?

The News reporter basically mirrored Takhan's thoughts, but her voice was drowned out when Thanos raised a fist, and fired an energy blast. What happened next was something Takhan knew he would never forget.

The entire Kree armada was disintegrated! Almost nothing solid remained, aside from the ashes. Smiling, Thanos turned to head inside the Skrull ship, but glanced back – looking straight at Takhan. Takhan's heart stopped beating, until he realized that it was more likely that Thanos had spotted the camera. But even that should be impossible; Takhan figured the camera would be miles and miles away. Thanos pointed at Takhan, and the screen became overrun with static.

Takhan felt his mother sit down beside him, her body trembling. Takhan wanted to comfort her, but he knew that his body was in a similar state. He felt so cold…but that couldn't be! Amazingly, despite the dark feelings inside the house, the sun was shining outside, the rays streaming in through the windows.

He was scared, scared for his planet, scared for his mother, and scared for his own life. Fear was an emotion that made one think. And Takhan knew he had to stop the Skrulls – no matter the cost!

For Takhan, that day marked the end of his old life. A few days later, his mother collapsed and died. A few more days later, and his school was burned to the ground. These two events caused uproar in the army, who asked for new recruits.

Takhan didn't hesitate to sign up. He wanted to be there when they caught and executed Thanos.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Don't worry, the next chapter is back to present. I do like the Kree/Skrull animosity from the comics. I may do a fic about that one day.


	10. Stepping Out

Thanos moved the scanner over Layla's body again. He still couldn't figure out a way to remove the Tesseract, which irked him. He felt he should have already figured out how to extract it, but the solution was stubbornly out of his grasp.

"Have you felt anything odd, recently?" Thanos probed. Layla shook her head.

"No, not at all. At first, I was nervous when you told me that the cube was inside me, but not anymore. Honestly, I forget it's inside me half the time. I don't think it'd be so bad if you couldn't remove," she replied. She was saying that for his sake, he could tell. Her pity always got him on edge, which was the opposite of her intentions.

With a sigh, Thanos flicked the switch, turning off the machine. Layla patted down the wrinkles of her dress after getting up. Her students would laugh at her if she went to class looking like she had been playing a sport, she informed Thanos.

"Well, you know the drill. I'll be home no later than seven." Oh, he knew all right. It had already been a few weeks since she had graciously let him stay at her house, so he was used to her arrangements. The only times she arrived home late was if she had gone shopping, or had stayed after class for the sake of a child.

Thanos smirked when he remembered the unfortunate discovery on they had made the day after Layla purchased his clothing: while the shirts and sweaters Layla had purchased fit just fine, the jeans she got did not, forcing Thanos to stick with his purple ones for now. Layla claimed they clashed with all of his upper-body clothing, but he didn't know (or care) of such things.

A few hours after Laya had left, and Thanos was getting restless. The house was very quiet and still when Layla was absent, and his patience only extended so far. It was time to stretch his legs.

* * *

><p>The bell rang, which caused the kids to shoot up like fireworks. Yelling their farewells for the day, the kids all scrambled out of the room, to go play with friends or watch after-school cartoons. Layla didn't blame them; Wednesday was smack-dab in the middle of the week, and the kids would start to get jittery for the weekend.<p>

Gathering her book-bag, she closed the door behind her as she left the class, trying not to make too much noise. The last thing she wanted was for Mr. Haynes to scold her for letting the kids run in the halls, or something. Luckily, she managed to escape the school with no principal incident.

_Maybe he was on the phone. More likely, he was having "discussions" with another teacher_, she thought ruefully.

The weather wasn't so bad, considering it was autumn. The sun was still up, at the very least, so the walk home wouldn't be too frigid.

Walking down the front stairs of the school, Layla almost tripped and fell when she saw a familiar, purple figure waiting near the school gate. Briskly jogging towards Thanos, she couldn't help but let out a confused, "What the heck are you doing? I thought you didn't want people to see you?"

"Ah, I was anticipating that question, although I didn't think it would be so upfront," Thanos began, leaning on the metal gate, which would probably stain the orange sweater he was wearing. "It's a simple trick to alter passerby's perception of me, using my telepathy. Most people will only see an average, unassuming human male." His tone was almost proud. Layla supposed he liked showing off.

"You can do that? Wow. But I can still see it's you." Thanos crossed his arms.

"I'm not altering your perception, of course. How else would you have known that was me?" Layla decided that was a dumb question, but then her mind got back on track.

"That doesn't answer my first question. Why come outside at all?" Thanos hummed, looking in the air.

"I suppose I just needed to stretch my legs. Also, memorizing the terrain around here was something I had to get around to eventually. When I realized that it was almost time for your school to be let out for the day, I thought it might be a good idea to wait for you. It might be safer for you if I was present."

Layla felt like informing him that she had walked alone for years, even after dark, and had always been just fine, but it was a nice gesture from him (was he trying to be friendly?), so she would just let it go. Before she could say anything, though, she heard an unfortunately familiar voice calling her to her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Miss Dunham, I'm glad I caught up to you," Mr. Haynes huffed, apparently having run out of school (_hypocritical_, Layla though) to catch her. Layla turned to him, doing her best to smile a real smile at him. She was coming up short, though.

"I just wanted to remind you that the parents-teacher meetings are coming up, and I wanted to make sure that you made yourself presentable. You wouldn't want you to embarrass the school and the students, right?"

He only then seemed to notice Thanos. Layla tensed up, almost ready for Haynes to scream in fear. Instead, the principal rolled his eyes.

"And here I thought Miss Dunham was single. Are you some new boyfriend?" Turning back to Layla, Haynes gave her a disappointed look. "If you're having some illicit relationship, I want to know about it. You wouldn't want me to reconsider keeping you at this school, would you?" As he stepped into Layla's personal space, Mr. Haynes got lifted into the air. Thanos had grabbed the man by the collar of his fancy suit. Layla was shocked; what was Thanos thinking?

* * *

><p>"I would suggest you watch your tone. Or would you rather I crush you right now, insect?" Mr. Haynes was starting to gasp for breath, so Thanos dropped the pathetic creature on the ground, where he scrambled backwards, staring in fear at what he saw as a seemingly meek guy.<p>

"And I suggest you don't tell anyone about this encounter, or I will find you, and do things that will make you long for Death's cold embrace," Thanos growled. The man wisely nodded his head, before getting up and running away.

Thanos looked on with satisfaction. Still, part of him wanted to kill the human anyway, but all his work with Layla would go down the drain, and there could be witnesses. Layla looked at him in shock, her eyebrows scrunched together.

"You shouldn't have done that! He's a jerk, but you may have gone too far." Thanos knew she didn't care for his methods, practical as they were.

"Come now, Layla. I'm sure you must have enjoyed some part of it," Thanos said, looking her in the eyes. Layla looked away, but grinned self-consciously, smoothing her hair.

"OK, maybe the guy had it coming…but let's try to keep a low-profile. I want to keep my job!" Surprising him, she linked a slender arm with his much larger one.

"But thanks. I mean it. You're not the kind of guy I would have expected it from," she said softly. Thanos almost said something, quickly coughed to hide his stumble, and let out, "He made it easy. I dislike worms like him," deciding he didn't at all mind the feeling of having her close to him.

_What am I thinking? Such a foolish thought! I like her company because I have been alone for a period of time, not because of physical want. _

To distract himself, Thanos asked Layla, "This may have been prudent of me to ask beforehand, but who exactly is that man to you?"

"My boss, basically," Layla said dismissively, but Thanos wouldn't be waved off.

"Your boss speaks to you in such a manner?" Thanks asked angrily. "What cause does he have to do so?"

"It's a long story, but to make it short, he propositioned me. I gave him a negative answer, and ever since, he's been on my case. I think he's hoping to wear me down, so that I'll say yes next time he asks. Or he's just really bitter, and wants any excuse to fire me. I don't know."

Thanos gazed at her, an unknown emotion spreading through him. He wanted to go back and kill this Haynes immediately.

"I have heard enough. He has no right to hound you," Thanos snapped. "I will go back and deal with him!" Layla stopped.

"No, don't you dare! I don't like the guy, but I don't want him dead either! He might have a family of his own!" Thanos wanted to shake her off and hunt down the fool, but that would chase away Layla, and the thought of being alone, this time without Death, was surprisingly frightening.

"Very well," Thanos relented. "But if that man bothers you again, I will not be accountable for my actions." Layla nodded.

"Fair enough," she murmured, hoping that Thanos wouldn't find out about any future incidents. Her arm slightly tightened around his, not going above his notice.

"Did his accusation bother you?" he asked, regarding the assumption that they were a couple. Layla laughed.

"Actually, I was worried you'd be annoyed by that." Thanos grunted.

"He can believe whatever he wishes. It doesn't matter to me." Secretly, he wondered why he was so okay with it.

* * *

><p>When they arrived home, there was a package at the door. Layla grabbed it excitedly, having a strong hunch what was inside.<p>

Opening the brown box was difficult. The sender had wrapped a ton of tape around the box, but Layla was too proud to ask Thanos for help. Finally, with help from a knife, she yanked it open, pulling out her prize; a TV remote. Seeing the questioning look Thanos gave her, Layla handed it to him.

"My TV remote broke a few weeks back, so I had to order a new one off Amazon. It was a pain waiting for it." Thanos handed the device back to her, seemingly disinterested now.

"After a long day at school, there is nothing better than putting your feet up and watching a good movie. Care to join me? I hear there's a good action film on tonight!" She was hoping he'd say yes; it had been a long time since she had seen a good film with company.

Thanos looked like he was about to answer in a certain manner, then changed his mind. "I'll have to decline. I plan to keep studying the Tesseract's mysterious behavior, and I have some more work to do on my ship."

It all sounded like excuses to Layla, but she shrugged, taking off her red scarf. Thank goodness the heater in the house was strong. As she lay on the couch and flicked on the television, she wondered about Thanos. Part of the time, he seemed to be trying to get closer, and then he would suddenly pull away, as if he was scared to get too close.

* * *

><p>Late that night, Thanos sat up in his too-small bed, wondering what had awoken him. Thinking hard, back to his dream –<p>

Oh.

He had one of his dreams, the ones he shared with Death, only Death wasn't in this one. Layla had been in it for some odd reason. Thanos crumpled his hand into a fist, ripping part of the bedsheet.

Was he becoming attracted to her? No, that was foolishness. But the dream…

_This attraction, if that is what this is, is dangerous. I have stayed long enough. I will fix my ship as soon as possible get back the Tesseract, and leave. It will be better for both of us that way._

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Back to a more calm chapter, more slice-of-life. Mr. Haynes is a jerk, but I have plans for him later. Luckily, I don't know any principals/teachers like him in real life.


	11. Friendship?

Layla wasn't sure what had happened. The atmosphere around her and Thanos had changed to chilly degrees. He had seemingly been avoiding her all Thursday night, and Friday morning. She usually woke up before him on weekdays, but on Friday, he was already tinkering in her basement before she even had breakfast ready. When she asked him what he would like, he just grunted.

She tried to start a conversation with him more than a few times before she had to leave for the final school day of the week. He was pretty unresponsive, so she was forced to leave the house in defeat.

Still, it wasn't all bad that day; after the incident with Thanos, Mr. Haynes hadn't bothered her at all, only speaking to her when she had a telephone call or something. Even then, he usually avoided eye contact. She actually felt a bit guilty about that, but she would look weak if she tried to apologize.

Class was a bit difficult when Layla realized that she was having trouble concentrating. She was too busy wondering what she had done to upset her purple housemate.

_I don't remember anything in particular. Was it because I told him not to kill Haynes? He couldn't have hated Haynes that much, could he? I hope not, because that isn't an issue I'm willing to bend on._

"Teacher? Are you OK?" Layla's head jolted up from where it had been resting on her arms when one of her female students piped up. All the kids were staring at her, some of them trying to hide giggles. Well, she supposed she did look silly.

"Sorry, my head must have flown to the clouds for a few seconds," Layla said, glad to see the kids light up again. It wouldn't do to daydream in class, especially since a few of the kids still had to learn to separate "their" from "they're". Teaching the children was a hard job, but someone had to do it.

_Thank goodness Mr. Haynes has been off my back lately, or I would have been in hot water with him for my performance today_, Layla thought to herself as the kids began to line up to hand her their papers. _When I get home, I should just ask Thanos what I did. No, he'd probably lie to me. I'll just have to make it up to him. Being with someone who doesn't speak to you is the same as being alone…_

When one of her students got upset, talking it out with them and letting them vent usually helped. With Thanos, she wasn't so naïve as to think that would work. Unlike the children, he wasn't very vocal about what he was feeling. In that respect, he was pretty similar to most human men…

Before heading home, she made a quick detour at the supermarket. Jogging inside, she was blasted by the cool air of an air conditioner. Wondering why the heck a store would blast the AC in the autumn, Layla rushed towards the baking section.

* * *

><p>Thanos was on the couch in the living room, thumbing through some reading material he had borrowed from Layla's bookshelf. It was biographical book about, of course, a famous literary writer. Thanos didn't care to learn more about any humans, but it was one of the few books in the house that held any interest for him. Looking up at the clock, he noticed that Layla was a bit late.<p>

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard the keys rattle at the front door, before a gust of wind rushed in, followed by a familiar, bundled up female. She was holding a plastic bag in one hand. Closing the door behind her with one foot, Layla lowered her scarf.

"Man, it's getting colder, and it's not even October yet!" She laughed, taking off her green hat to hang on the wooden appliance near the door. Rubbing her arms up and down, she looked at Thanos. "You don't even look cold at all. How do you do it?"

Thanos put down his book, almost grateful for a break from it. "Layla, I can survive in the cold of space. A bit of Earth weather hardly means anything to me." Layla smiled and rolled her eyes, a response he didn't expect.

"You know, that kind of makes me jealous. But at least I got you to actually say more than two words," Layla commented victoriously. Thanos shook his head, and went back to reading. Mentally, he wasn't so calm.

_Try as I might to drive her away, it seems all too easy for her to reel me back in. Does she not realize that attachment could be hazardous for her?_

Thanos felt a strange sensation in his chest, an unfamiliar one, and he didn't like it. But it seemed to get worse when he tried to ignore the cheerful woman.

Layla headed to the kitchen, putting the plastic bag inside one of the upper cabinets. She wasn't tall enough, so she had to kneel on the counter just to reach. Thanos caught himself watching her.

"What is in the bag?" he inquired, to get any other thoughts out of his now treacherous brain. Sliding off the smooth counter, she waved a finger at him.

"Nope, not telling. It's a surprise for tomorrow." If she thought that she could goad Thanos into continuously badgering for more info, she was mistaken. He grabbed his book, and headed to his room, not in the mood to work in his lab.

The next morning, the first thing Thanos noticed as he awoke was that the usual breakfast aroma was different, but he couldn't quite place why. Getting up from his bed, which was constantly rubbing in the fact that he never got around to making it larger, he heard the patter of footsteps approaching his door.

Before he could gather his bearings, Layla rushed in, wearing a white cloth over her normal attire. She was holding a spatula in one hand, the end of it drenched in a black-coating.

"Hey, Thanos, I – Oh my god!" The last part was shrieked as she hurriedly turned around and closed the door behind her. Thanos sat back down on the edge of the bed, wondering what could have bewitched her, before remembering that he was stark naked.

_Oh yes, human "deceny". I forgot many of them were shy around nudity. I will have to keep that in mind._

With that said, he could feel his own face mildly heating up. Being naked around people had never even mattered to him before, and yet here he was, feeling flustered. What had she done to him?

From behind the closed door, Layla had been apologizing non-stop for what felt like whole minutes, and swearing that she hadn't seen anything, before telling him, "When you're dressed, come downstairs, OK? I have a surprise for you!"

Pulling on a yellow sweater over his head, Thanos hoped it was a good one; he detested surprises.

* * *

><p>Downstairs in the kitchen, Layla was putting the finishing touches, trying to stop blushing. How stupid could she be?<p>

_I should have knocked first. That's one of the first thing every parent teaches you! Luckily, I didn't see anything…or at least, I don't think I did. But his body…_

Wow, he was buff. More so than any body-builder she had ever seen. No wonder he was so strong. He looked like he could kill her by hugging her.

Layla clapped her hands over both her cheeks. Her mind was going to some dirty places, and she had to stop this. He was a guest and maybe (hopefully) a friend. She couldn't wreck that.

She felt herself blushing again when she heard Thanos enter the kitchen, now fully dressed. He didn't say anything, so she didn't either, for fear of accidentally causing things to get even more tense.

He peered over her shoulder at what she was doing, which was putting a frying pan on the stove. She knew he must have noticed the pancake batter was darker than usual. She decided to save him the trouble of asking.

"Have you ever tried chocolate pancakes?" she asked. Thanks took one last look, before sitting down at his usual seat, stretching.

"Hmm. No. As a matter of fact, I have never indulged in chocolate. Ah, that must be what you purchased last night." She studied his face, but he didn't seem to be teasing. Then again, she was never good at reading him. She absently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Then you are in for a treat. Many people would say chocolate is some of the best food there is, if you asked around. My mom used to make these for me on special occasions, but this will be my first time making some." She grew nostalgic, remembering how her mom made a whole plateful when she graduated from elementary school.

"What occasion is this, then?" Layla was glad he asked.

Sitting down as the table next to him, she replied, "It's been a week since you crashed into my very boring life, and made it a lot more bearable." She began to self-consciously play with her hair, twirling it around her fingers.

"I've been worried that maybe I hadn't been showing my appreciation, or that I'd been unintentionally rude to you. So…thank you. Thank you for making my life that much more interesting. I'm not sure when you have to leave, but I want the rest of your time here to be fun. I want you to leave with good memories, I guess." She was blushing now, she knew it, but she forced herself to look into his eyes, so that he would know she meant it. She only hoped his response wasn't too harsh.

* * *

><p>Thanos wasn't sure how to respond to her heartfelt statement. She had taken his earlier silence the wrong way, assuming that he had been offended in some way. He would have to set that straight.<p>

"Let me make this clear: if you feel that you have somehow caused me any inconvenience, that isn't true in the slightest," Thanos began. "It had nothing to do with the way you have treated me, which I might add, was almost too kind, considering who I am."

"Then why..?" Layla started, confused.

"I'd rather not say," Thanos quickly interjected, not wanting to bring up the fact that he was starting to suspect that he harbored less than innocent feelings for her. But he wasn't convinced; it was possible that it was a reaction to being with someone after years of being in solitude, or the fact that she was the first person to be show him kindness.

"I honestly don't even understand why you would miss me if I left. I've done terrible things in my time; I even tried to kill you! Why would you want me to stay?" Thanos crossed his arms, waiting for her reply.

"Because I don't want to be alone anymore. The last few years have been some of the loneliest in my life. I honestly value your friendship. If you left, I certainly wouldn't be happy," Layla responded quietly, her eyes begging him for…something. It was a look that he wouldn't be surprised to discover resided in his own eyes.

He held her gaze, until his senses picked up the fact that something was burning. Layla noticed too, eyes widening as she got up and dashed to the stove, turning one of the dials.

"Oh no," she moaned, looking down at the pan. Thanos didn't need to look to tell that it had cooked for longer than intended.

"Sorry, I forgot to set an alarm," Layla said, mock slapping herself on the forehead. "Looks like my first time cooking chocolate pancakes is a bust, huh?" She laughed at herself, but it was all too easy to see it was a front.

"Oh well, don't worry, I'll make something else, just as – huh?" Thanos cut her off by taking the pan from her, and dumping the black contents on his plate. Jamming a fork in the substance, he put it in his mouth and swallowed.

"Wait, what are you doing? That's burned. It's not healthy!" Layla warned, her maternal instincts kicking in.

"Hmph. I'll be fine. I doubt eating this will get me sick. And eat it, I will." Eating this would be his penance, he decided. Perhaps he had been too hasty when he had decided to leave, avoiding all contact with Layla. Would the vast emptiness of space be preferable to this?

_No_, Thanos realized. _It wouldn't_.

* * *

><p>Layla watched as he forced the whole thing down. There was no way that tasted good, confirmed when he winced after eating the last bite. He huffed, lying back in his chair, before quickly thinking better of it and standing up.<p>

"Thank you for the meal. I hope that can make up for the horrible way I have been treating you." He seemed to be forcing the words out; he obviously wasn't the kind of guy who said words like that often. Layla shook her head.

"No, no. I was never mad. I thought you were upset with me the whole time!" and she laughed, because the whole situation was absurd. A few moments later, Thanos joined in. It was the first time he had laughed, not a bitter or creepy laugh, but a seemingly genuine laugh.

Thanos sobered up, coughing into a fist. "I don't know what you do to me sometimes," he admitted, his bass voice slightly deeper than usual, out of embarrassment.

"So…still friends?" Layla asked, holding her hand out. Thanos reached out, hesitated for a moment, and grabbed hers.

"Yes, that would be fine. I accept your companionship." They shook on it.

That night, they finally watched a movie together, some lame comedy film. Thanos watched the whole thing with a bewildered look on his face. Layla giggled as she stared at him, hands wrapped around her legs, not even bothering to listen to the film. He actually looked cute when he was confused.

"Not a single action in this…movie has made any sense," he complained at one point.

"Trust me, that's how comedy films work." Layla wasn't a fan of slapstick humor herself, but it was worth it to see the alien's reactions.

Truth be told, she had been disappointed when he had responded positively to her "friends" comment. She was starting to wonder if she wanted more than that, or if she was miss-placing her feelings of friendship.

* * *

><p>"I'll bite: what does this one do?" Captain America was referring to the latest armor that Stark was currently building. Stark pulled up the mask that protected his face from the heat.<p>

"This, my friend, is the strongest armor yet, designed to face off against any alien opponent. When we find this guy (if we find him), no matter how strong he is, this armor will be able to handle it! Even if it turns out to be Thanos himself, I'll have a trick up my metallic sleeve".

Captain America looked impressed, and a bit skeptical. Tony couldn't blame him; he tended to exaggerate juuuust a bit when it came to his inventions.

Putting an arm around Steve's shoulder, Stark led him out of the lab. "We should go have some shawarma and relax a bit. When I get back, I'll put the finishing touches on my new baby," he said excitedly, leaving his latest creation on a metal table, shining in the light-bulb filled room.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

So, I have mixed feelings on this chapter. I dunno, something about the pacing irks me.

But for some reason, I enjoy having the characters get stuck in the "friendzone". I'm mean. ;)


	12. Memories and Thoughts in the Snow

Waking early on a Saturday was never something Layla tried doing on purpose. What was the point? Saturday was one of only two days in the week where she could sleep in, and taking advantage of that was something she took pleasure in. But today, she had things to think about, and it would be easier if she did her pondering outside, where she wouldn't have to be worried about Thanos scanning her mind.

Putting on her warm black coat (her father had once joked the dark color would make her easy to see in a snowstorm), gloves, and hat as quietly as she could, Layla wrapped the scarf around her neck (the final touch), and tip-toed down the stairs. It was a good effort, but the stairs creaked anyway. She was tempted to pause, but she knew that was the worst thing she could do; better to get the noise over with, so she hurried down the stairs, skipping every-other step.

Entering the living room, she saw Thanos reading on the couch. He glanced up at her questioningly.

"You woke up before me? Really?" Layla was honestly surprised; Thanos usually stayed up late doing science-related things in his lab, which resulted in him getting up later than her.

Thanos ignored her question, and nodded pointedly at her attire. "Going out? Isn't this a weekend? I recall you mentioning that school was closed during this time." She kinda wished he'd go back to reading the book.

"I was just going to go for a walk. The air is at its freshest in the morning, good for thinking and clearing the mind." She didn't see any reason to lie about that, even though she wasn't sure if he'd understand that. He didn't look like the kind of guy who had ever needed to clear his head.

"The weather is rather frigid for a simple trek. Those must be some heavy thoughts on your mind," Thanos commented lightly, and for a moment, Layla was worried that he was reading her mind right now. One of these days, she would have to speak to him about personal boundaries.

Deciding it was time to go, Layla shoved her feet in thick boots before opened the front door, hesitating when a gust of chilling wind blasted against her face. Glancing back, she saw Thanos had gone back to his reading, all snug. Being an alien had some very good perks, obviously, such as having thick skin.

Steeling her resolve, she inhaled, and put one foot out the door. Feeling braver, she put her other foot in front, took a few more steps, and let the door shut behind her. Normally, the sound would have been louder, but the wind had drowned everything else out.

_At least it isn't snowing. The snow can get real thick around here_, Layla thought to herself, putting her scarf over her mouth.

Walking aimlessly forward, Layla got lost in her thoughts. Most people would be indoors right about now, so she wasn't too worried about running into other people, despite the fact that her neighbors had finally returned. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to speak with them yet; Thanos made that difficult.

Thanos. He was the whole reason she was out here, and not just because his telepathy made her wary, but because her thoughts were about him. She had been happy when he had crashed down, happy to let him stay at her house for awhile, and happy that she had someone to talk to.

But those feelings of happiness seemed to be morphing into something else. Sometimes, they would be talking, and she would be content to listen to his deep voice. More than a few times, she would catch herself stealing quick glances at him.

_Of course, I like him. Anyone who helped add some spice to this boring place would be a winner in my book. But would I feel this way about anyone else who had arrived?_ She wasn't so sure. She was also concerned that Thanos had "heard" her thoughts, and considered her foolish. Did he have those kind of emotions? Did his species look down on things like that?

There were so many questions and thoughts to sort out. She could ask him – but no, that would be too embarrassing. What if he laughed? Just the thought made her clench her fists in anxiety. She sighed, a puff of visible air flying up towards the sky and vanishing.

Looking up, she saw that she had arrived at the local supermarket (AKA, the only supermarket in the whole town). The name, Bob's Local Produce, wasn't very catchy, but when this was the place everyone came for their food, it wasn't a name you forgot. She didn't enter (Layla hadn't thought to bring any money), but the place brought back pleasant, if uneventful, memories.

_The automatic doors slid open for Layla and her shopping cart, moving aside as if they were royalty. Hah, she wished! No, she was just here to get herself some vegetables and soup. Maybe some dessert could be squeezed in, but she didn't want to gain weight. One of her kids had once claimed, "Teacher, you got bigger!" That had been enough to cause Layla to abandon sweets for months._

_Walking down the well-lit aisles to the health section, Layla wished for a moment that she had someone else to eat with. Instead of buying two cans of soup, she could buy four – at least. Instead of buying a few tomatoes, she could get a basket-full! Spending the extra money wouldn't be so bad._

_After filling half her cart, Layla rolled it to the nearest check-out line, trying to ignore the squeak one of the cart's wheels made. One of her neighbors, a gabby lady named Clementine, was the customer in front of her, unfortunately. Layla plastered a friendly smile on her face as Clementine turned towards her._

"_Oh, hello dear. I didn't expect to see you here today. How is your job as a teacher going? Oh never mind that, are you still on your diet?" Layla got lost in the conversation after that. Clementine meant well, but the amount of words she could speak in the course of a few minutes was overwhelming. Then again, the curly-haired lady was phone operator; being able to speak quickly was probably what got her the job in the first place!_

_After waiting what felt like half an hour, it was finally Clementine's turn. Swiveling her head to address the cashier, earrings dangling like swings, Clementine seemed to switch the conversation. "Why, hello Bob! Fancy meeting you here. I was just informing Layla that she needed to get married soon!" Layla couldn't remember that part of the conversation, but then, she had missed the last few minutes._

_Bob nodded, rubbing his hand against his beard, stroking it. "Its true, Layla. You're already in your 20s; maybe it's time to consider getting hitched." _

_The problem with that idea was that in this small town, she knew everyone…and there was no one she liked enough to marry._

_Thanking them both for the well-meaning advice, Layla quickly paid for her groceries, and briskly walked past the door, which seemed to open faster than usual._

It was for that reason she was happy to have Thanos around. It was just nice to have someone else at home that she could buy extra groceries for! It was simple as that; romance had nothing to do with it. Layla laughed to herself, kicking a stone that was on the ground. Lying to herself was never her strong suit.

* * *

><p>Thanos had long since put his book down, giving up on being able to concentrate on the long passages of text. When Layla had suddenly brought up that she was going to think about human things, his first inclination had been to read her mind; he had dismissed the thought. He hadn't actually scanned her mind for over a week now, although he didn't know the precise reason why this was.<p>

Maybe because she trusted him, reading her private thoughts would be despicable of him. But since when did he care about _that_? But then, the situation had changed since the beginning. At first, he had planned to murder his host, but that changed when the Tesseract unexpectedly embedded itself inside Layla. He had still planned to kill her, after the cube was removed. But now…

When he thought about it…he no longer had any wish to harm her, even after removing the Tesseract. The thought actually made him feel….unpleasant. She had been kind to him, treated him in ways he had never been treated before, and she had even given him something else to live for, aside from Lady Death. She had even offered…friendship. The word was alien in Thanos' mind.

Of course, he was grateful for that. But was that all? He had been grateful to people in the past, people he still ended up murdering. But she was different; he sometimes picked up the scent of her hair when he walked past her, and he sometimes caught himself gazing at her inexplicably. And that dream he had…

Thanos lay back on the couch, hand behind his head. He was too tall for the couch, as with his bed, but that wasn't his concern at the moment.

_One such as I, Thanos, having these feelings? It must be a cruel cosmic prank!_ He wasn't laughing, though. But what could he do with feelings like this? She was friendly with him, of course, but if he admitted these feelings…what would her reaction be? Would she scream, or maybe faint? The thought made him wince.

Besides…he wasn't attractive by Earth standards, he knew and accepted that. He was large, purple-skinned, and had a large, lined chin. And as an alien, would a…relationship be forbidden? He didn't know (not that gave much thought to what anyone in power considered "decent").

Thanos almost laughed to himself. Why was he giving such rambles the time of day? It was probably best to squash these musings now, before it got out of hand. With that decided, Thanos turned back to his book, which now seemed infinitely less interesting.

* * *

><p>Layla decided to head through the small woods (if it was big enough to even call it that). It was on the edge of town, and some kids used to play there after school, until the parents put their foot down. It wasn't especially dangerous, since getting lost was nearly impossible.<p>

Most of the leaves had already fallen off the trees, leaving them very much naked. Layla placed her gloved hand on one of the tree's bark. She couldn't feel it through the glove, but it was probably cold and rough. She had come here once, with a student.

_She chased the young girl into the woods, knowing that if the kid got hurt, she would have Hell to pay with the parents and Mr. Haynes. The girl was laughing happily, care-free in a way that only a kid could be. Layla thought it would be nice to be young again, so that she could play without worry too._

_In the woods, the girl had begun to climb a tree, and Layla watched, fidgeting. She had to be ready to catch the girl if she were to slip. Reaching a high branch, the girl shouted down, "Teacher, have you ever climbed this tree?" Layla responded that climbing a tree was something she had never tried before. Furthermore, she had never explored these woods either. The girl seemed disappointed._

"_My father takes me here sometimes. Don't you have anyone to come with, to climb trees or have picnics?" Layla smiled sadly, saying that she didn't. But she wished she did, very much._

Maybe she would ask Thanos if he would like to come to the woods with her one day, when the snow fell, and the trees looked like they were blanketed, and no one was around, and everything was calm and still.

Her final stop was Crosswood Academy. Looking at the building from outside, she was hoping for a different perspective. It looked the same, though it did bring one not-so-great memory back to the surface.

_After moving from her parent's house, Layla had been working at Crosswood for a few weeks, and she was getting the hang of it, had memorized the code to enter the teacher's lounge, and had begun to make friends with her fellow instructors. _

_At the moment, she was drinking some coffee in the lounge, when Mr. Haynes walked it. She knew it was him because he was the only adult in school who had the scent of thick cologne. He sat down on one of the plastic chairs._

"_I see you've been doing well so far. I knew I saw something in you," Haynes said, seemingly trying his hardest to make conversation. _

"_Thanks," Layla replied graciously. He had been the one to recommend her, so she really couldn't thank him enough. Reaching for her coffee cup, her hand was obstructed by another hand, which was attached to Haynes. Clasping his hand to hers, Haynes let out, "You're a strong, commanding woman. I like that in a lady."_

_It was obvious this was his way of flirting. Layla had no interest, and planned to stop things before they got out of hand. Removing her hand from his grasp, she tried to politely tell him what she thought._

"_Sorry, Mr. Haynes. I appreciate what you did to get me a job, but I'm way too busy right now to consider anything else at the moment. Maybe in a few months, once things get settled, I'll think about it." Mr. Haynes didn't look happy being rebuffed. Getting up stiffly, he strode to the door, only turning back to say, "I'm disappointed with you, Dunham." The door angrily slammed against its frame as Haynes departed from the room, leaving a shaken Layla._

Well, at least she didn't have to worry about him now, thanks to Thanos. It was one more thing she had to thank him about. Dating him was much more appealing than dating Mr. Haynes.

Rubbing her hands together to get warm, Layla hurried back home, realizing that she had been gone for hours. Making up her mind, Layla decided that she would tell Thanos her feelings….tomorrow. What happened after that was something she would think about when she got there.

At the house, Thanos had been stuck in the same chapter of that blasted book for a while. He was frustrated at his easily distracted thoughts, but he had to steel his mind.

_I am no coward; I will tell her tomorrow, when the time is right. Even if she turns me down, I am sure she will have the decency to hear me out._

The front door opened, and Layla walked in, shivering. "I think I'd better make some coffee. Want some?" Thanos nodded, feeling more satisfied that he had in awhile, and sensing that Layla felt the same way. Her walk had apparently been fruitful.

* * *

><p>Takhan was staring at a glowing computer monitor, one that his scientists had asked him to look at.<p>

"Sir, we are getting readings from the Tesseract, the cosmic cube that Thanos had stolen. The signals are originating from the planet Earth. We suspect Thanos to be hiding down there." Takhan sneered. Just like Thanos to hide on such a wretched mudball. It would be fitting to kill the Titan in such a desolate place.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Oh, man. It's been a while since the last chapter; I apologize for that. I also apologize that the first chapter after the break isn't very big. I wrote it as more of a slow, contemplative chapter, with a tiny bit a recap in it for good measure. Still, I hope you enjoy as my two MC's slowly drift towards each other...

Oh, and Happy New Years. :)


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